Magical Orders and Thieving Angels
by Canis Cantus
Summary: A magical accident of fantastical proportions sends Zidane Tribal on an unexpected adventure in a world so different from his own. In order to get home he will once again be dragged into something so much greater than himself, meeting both friends and foes in the process. Will he survive to the end of the school year?
1. Chapter 1: Accidents happen

**Notes:**

This story takes place after FFIX and a little before Order of the Phoenix starts.

It obviously contains a large amount of SPOILERS.

It is only implied that Tantalus returns to do the play on Garnet's 17th birthday (she is supposedly born in January 15th 1784), but for the sake of this fic, this won't be the case. Meaning Zidane who was born in September (it's not specified but will be celebrated on the 9th)1783 will turn 17 years old in this fic.

While warp isn't available to the players in FFIX, Kuja does use a teleportation spell to get your party out of the Iifa Tree, so it is assumed it does in fact exist.

In FFIX there are certain status ailments that stay after battle, but can be cured with magic or certain items, one of them is 'Blind'. In this fic the effects of such spell are considered "long lasting", but not permanent.

There will be several references to some of the side quests within FFIX, if there is anything that is not understood, either ask me or search for it online, I highly recommend using the FF wikia, same goes for the Harry Potter wikia.

"Something" Will be used for speech.

_'Something'_ Will be used for thoughts.

**_'Something'_ **Will be used for telepathy

When everything is in italics, it means you're looking at a flashback. Sometimes I use bold or put everything on caps just to emphasize something.

As always reviews are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 1: Accidents happen.

…

It was a beautiful day in the kingdom of Alexandria. Spring had graced the previously war torn country, making it rise from the ashes, and prosper under the monarchy of Queen Garnet til Alexandros XVII. The sun was out, its rays striking the large, rebuilt, crystal obelix and making it resemble a glorious beacon. The sky was clear with the exception of a few wispy clouds in the sky, and the weather was perfect. In fact, many of the various people in the kingdom had taken the day off to rest under the gentle shade of trees and enjoy the aromatic scent of the blooming flowers. The winter´s biting cold was gone and many knew that now was the time to enjoy themselves before the asphyxiating heat of summer made its appearance.

Everything was perfect, or so it would seem. But as they say, appearances have a tendency to be deceiving. Indeed the war might have been over, but not all was well.

Queen Garnet paced nervously around her chamber, dragging behind the soft fabric of her dress. She had soft chocolate brown eyes, and held her now longer hair clasped in a low ponytail. Similar to how she had worn it before cutting her hair during the war. Outside in the hallway she could easily hear the metallic clanking of many frenzied knights. She nervously bit her thumb nail, although she realized what an unlady-like gesture it was, she honestly didn´t care. She was much too preoccupied for that.

'_How could this happen?'_ She thought as she walked over to the nearest window and saw, with great sadness, the great plumes of smoke that were rising to the air from one of the castle courtyards and beyond.

'_How could things turn this way? We finally got out of that horrible war, we were finally together.' _Garnet asked, while unconsciously fidgeting with the ring on her finger, her thoughts trailing to that day.

…

_Her heart seemed to skip a beat as everything around her slowed down and became less significant. For a moment she thought she was dreaming as she saw that figure on the stage dramatically remove his cloak to reveal **him**. But how could it be him? She spent so long searching for him in the ruins of the Iifa Tree. It took her several months to finally give up the search and accept his death, but she was really never able to move on. Sure she did her duties as queen, but on the inside she felt like a part of her soul had died._

_Things didn't improve when she heard of Vivi's death. It had come as a massive blow when she found out that the timid little black mage that had accompanied them on their adventure and helped save the world had 'stopped'. The last time they saw each other was only a week before when he came to the castle all the way from the Black Mage Village. Vivi seemed ecstatic, saying he found a way for his kind to live longer and even reproduce, he even said his solution could even help the soul-less genomes. At the end of his visit, he surprised her by solemnly thanking her for everything and asking her to pass the message to the others. She didn't understand what was going on then, but afterwards she realized that Vivi must have known that he didn't have long._

_Garnet took in every detail of the figure before her, half expecting it to be a dream or maybe a very bad joke. But he was just like she remembered him. The shoulder-length blonde hair, held back in a low ponytail, with long bangs at either side of his face. His playful blue-green eyes that sometimes seemed to glow an unnatural cyan color, much like some animal´s eyes in the dark. That crooked smile that always lifted her spirits, yet teased her at the same time. And of course, the long, blonde monkey-like tail that swished gently behind him, the mark that identified him for what he was. Garnet couldn't deny it any longer, the person before her was no other than Zidane Tribal._

That same night we had a large feast to celebrate Zidane´s so called 'return from the dead'. We laughed and told stories. We cried, and gave a toast for those who had left us and moved on. In truth, it was unfair to say they 'left', for their memory lived on, and their presence amongst us that night was all but tangible. Apparently Zidane was half-dead when dragged out of the Iifa tree by Mikoto, his 'sister' and fellow genome . He did not mention what happened to Kuja, which was still a very delicate subject for everyone. What he did say is that all this time he had been recovering from his extensive injuries, so that once fully healed, he could come back to the Mist Continent and be reunited with everyone. He insisted that his performance tonight was pure coincidence, but she thought otherwise. If Zidane Tribal was coming back, then she knew he would do so with a bang, and what better way than portraying the hero of her favorite play?

Yet, apparently his miraculous return was not the last ace up his sleeve. Indeed there was one more surprise, one that was revealed to her right after the feast disguised as a walk through the castle gardens.

….

"_Dagger, wait up!" A voice called her by the name she adopted during their journey. Dagger turned and saw the trotting figure of Zidane approaching her._

"_I see you still have that habit of disappearing on us, eh Dagger?" Zidane said with that playful laugh of his that melted her on the inside. How she had missed that laugh._

_Garnet pouted a bit, then crossed her arms and turned away feigning displeasure. She had spent enough time with the Genome to learn to how to respond to his jabs. "Well, if you only came to make fun of my habits and have nothing else to say, then I'll just leave."_

"_Ah, come on. Don't get mad, I __was__ just wondering where you ran off to after dinner. There's nothing wrong with worrying about someone is there?" Zidane said with a teasing smile, and a hint of…nervousness?_

"_No, I__guess there's not." Dagger said, this time pretending that she was deep in thought._

"_Well, the night is still young, the sky is clear, the moons are bright and the stars are shining. It's the perfect night for a walk. Would you care to join me?" Zidane said as he held out his hand and gave a mock bow; a ridiculous imitation of what a high class noble would do._

_Garnet rolled her eyes at Zidane's antics, but she couldn't help but smile. The monkey-tailed blonde had a very contagious sense of __humour__. She took his hand anyways, but not without a comment. "You know, any nobleman would be very insulted."_

"_Well, then I guess my job's done." He said with a chuckle, and then once again adopted that mock-noble tone. "Anywhere in specific you'd like to go my lady?"_

_This time Garnet just gave him a playful, un-lady-like shove. _

"_Hey!" Zidane said, nearly falling over, before his tail helped him regain his balance._

"_You know you had that coming. And yes, there is somewhere I'd like to go." Dagger said._

_Zidane gave a knowing look before intertwining both their arms and leading her in the direction of the old queen's memorial. _

_Dagger walked at a leisurely pace alongside the thief. He was right, it was the perfect night for a walk. The temperature was not too cold or too hot and the moons did look beautiful. The light they gave off made Zidane's eyes glow an ethereal blue, and his hair shine an almost silver sheen. It was a bit too much like his brother in her opinion, but nevertheless, it looked simply beautiful. Besides, it was understandable that they look alike since most genomes held similar appearances. _

'_At least Zidane doesn't have the same…taste in clothing as his brother.' Garnet thought with relief._

_At the moment though, aside from the wings and lack of tail, Zidane looked a lot like an angel. She winced a bit, since she knew he was supposed to have been the 'Angel of Death' and everything, but there was nothing else that came to her mind when she saw him._

_She was caught out of her thoughts when the more lady-like side of her made her realize she was staring, though Zidane apparently hadn't realized it yet. In fact, it was quite strange that the usually loquacious genome was now silently walking, as if deep in thought. Upon closer inspection, Garnet also noticed the occasional twitch, swish, and curl of his tail. During their journey she discovered how the furry appendage had the habit of showing Zidane's mood. From a calm swish, to furious thrashing, to a happy wag, even the fur on his tail would bristle when afraid or angry. If the current movement of the tail were any indication, Zidane was currently a bit nervous and fidgety. How strange._

_Soon they reached the memorial: the place where her mother, Queen Brahne, rested. Though she was not really her real biological mother, she was still very important to her. Her love for her even endured the queen's insanity that led to her grave. Yes, maybe she did at one point order her death, and she did extract her eidolons, but in the end she came to her senses, even though it was moments before her death._

_She sat down with Zidane for a while, her hand in his own gloved one, watching the stars together. This place always brought her peace. The stars and moons also soothed her. Zidane however seemed a bit distracted, and instead or looking up at the twin moons, he would turn to look at the skies near the castle. Was he planning something?_

_After a while, Garnet decided it was about time to leave. That is, if the feeling of stinging needles in her legs were of any indication. Steiner would probably be looking for her right now. Zidane seemed a bit reluctant at first, but then seemed to give in._

_They once again walked in a calm silence, the sound of their footsteps accompanied by far off laughter of people and the songs of the various creatures that inhabited the castle's moat. Zidane had his hands in his pockets while Garnet had hers folded in front of her dress. They were nearing the moat now, and with every step they took, Zidane's tail would droop lower. He really looked like something was bothering him, but then, why wasn't he saying anything?_

"_Is something wrong?" Dagger asked._

"_Wha- no! It's just…well I…" Zidane nervously stuttered much to Garnet's surprise. "I'm not making sense am I?"_

_Garnet shook her head._

"_Uhh, well…you see the thing I'm trying to say is…" Zidane said, this time nervously backing away, only to be stopped by the back of the fountain that was between the moat and the path to the castle._

"_Zidane Tribal!" Garnet said in a no nonsense tone while putting her hands on her hips and approaching the retreating blonde. She thought she heard a stifled gasp but ignored it and instead focused on Zidane._

_She was about admonish the blonde and force him to tell her what was wrong, when she heard a loud whistling sound and an even louder boom. Startled, she quickly turned to see the source of such noise, only to see a very large, very colorful, and very beautiful arrange of fireworks in the sky, their light being reflected on the surface of the water._

"_Phew, here I thought they were never gonna fire them." Zidane said with evident relief._

"_What are you talking about? Is this what it was all about?" Garnet asked, part of her own worry gone._

"_Well, yeah…mostly. There is just one more thing now." Zidane said and Garnet didn't miss the slight twitch of his tail. Taking a deep breath, Zidane moved to stand directly in front of her and then bent down on one knee. Out of his pocket he fished out a small velvet box which he held towards her. "I know the circumstances in which we met weren't exactly the best, but ever since we met that fateful night, that moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew my life was complete. We've been through so much together, so much good and so much bad. And through the bad, while I was there for you, know that you were always there for me too, even though you may not realize it. It was your words that helped me overcome my past back in Pandemonium. It was your song that kept me from dying in the Iifa Tree. It was our promise that made me come back." Zidane then opened the velvet box to reveal a beautiful golden ring that had a large, shining garnet surrounded by seven gleaming diamonds. "This here garnet was once upon a time __just another ordinary stone... The stone made a wish... 'I want to shine!' The stone traveled from person to person, in keeping with its wish... And now, it's shining in your hand, Dagger, just like you are today. Garnet til __Alexandros XVII, my beloved Dagger, will you marry me?"_

_Garnet just stood there in complete and utter shock. Any thought process in her mind before now had come crashing down to a stop, much like two Lindblum air cabs smashing right into each other. Zidane seemed to wait in an unnerving silence, his tail twitching and curling under the pressure. Slowly her mind tried to go over the information before her critically, first eyeing the blond and then the ring as if to make sure she was not imagining things._

_Zidane noticed her shifting gaze and tried to make sense of it as well. His words however, caught her of guard. "It's okay, it's not stolen or anything I used some of the remainders of gil I got from our journey, and worked hard for the rest. A couple of run-ins with the ragtime mouse did help thou-"_

"_It's not that." Garnet said, and to her surprise she felt warm tears start to run down her cheeks. She quickly brushed them away with her gloved hand._

"_Huh, what's wrong? Dagger…Listen, if you don't want to…I…understand…I'm sorry." Zidane said, his eyes looking down at the ground, his hand scratching the back of his neck in a nervous habit while his tail actually drooped on the ground behind him. _

_He was about to just turn away in rejection, when he felt a large force collide unto him and nearly take him down. To his surprise, it was Dagger who now had him enveloped in a crushing embrace, tears still rolling down her face._

_Dagger sniffed before wiping the tears from her eyes."Don't be silly, of course I want to marry you! You just took me by surprise that's all."_

_Zidane froze, looking just as shocked as she had moments ago. "Are you…do you really mean it?"_

_Dagger nodded eagerly, causing Zidane's confused frown to turn into a brilliant, full blown smile. He quickly put the ring on her finger and then almost immediately, much to her surprise, lifted her off her feet and spun her around while laughing with mirth. The fireworks around them continued to dazzle her as Zidane then shouted at the top of his lungs, as if letting the whole world know._

"_WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"_

_Almost as if on cue (and much to Garnet's embarrassment), cheers erupted from around them as their friends appeared from their respective hiding places. Everyone of their comrades were there, including Amarant, much to everyone's surprise, and even Zidane's brothers from Tantalus. Quickly after all the congratulations and best wishes, another party was in order. It lasted well into the late hours of the night and ended only at the earliest hours of the next morning. _

_If Garnet had to look back in her life, there was no doubt about it; that was the best day of her life._

_..._

Garnet smiled at the memory. Since then, Zidane had been staying with them in Alexandria Castle, only leaving occasionally to visit the Tantalus troupe, help with the repairs in Lindblum, and also help out in Alexandria. He even participated in some plays Tantalus put up for the sake of charity. Of course Zidane was aware that marrying her would then by default make him king of Alexandria. She knew for a fact that he loathed the idea, rather than enjoy it like any other normal person would. He just wasn't the type to hunger for wealth and power. He disliked the aristocracy just as much, which was expected since he spent the better part of his life stealing from such nobles to make a living. He most likely saw them as a bunch of snobs whose greatest problems were what to spend money on. And in a lot of cases, he was right. She was a bit moved by the fact that he was willing to accept the responsibilities and deal with the pompous nobles if it meant being a part of her world. Indeed accepting to be a king, meant saying goodbye to the problematic, yet simple life of a thief, and she knew he would miss that freedom.

The nobles however didn't react as well as her soon-to-be-husband. While she had some support from Regent Cid, and therefore many of the nobles from Lindblum, a large number of high ranking aristocrats were completely against her union with Zidane. She had received more than just one complaint about the matter, and even more thinly veiled threats. The biggest problem was that Zidane was not of noble birth (or actually normal birth), and therefore their marriage would 'taint' the noble line of her ancestors that dated back to generations, which was just a nice way of saying they didn't want a peasant ruling, and which was completely untrue since she wasn't really a direct biological descendant of the royal line, seeing as she was secretly adopted for her resemblance to the late Princess Garnet. But, those nobles didn't need to know that. And even if they did know, it didn't matter since she had gained the support of the people of Alexandria after facing the worst that came from the war.

And when it came down to it, as queen, it was still her decision.

It was actually the people that seemed to take to Zidane the most, which was understandable, since he had quite the humble upbringing and therefore understood the struggles of everyday life. And most important of all, and the reason a lot of the nobles had reluctantly agreed in the end was that Zidane really wasn't just a common thief anymore. No, after fighting in the war, Zidane became known as one of the eight brave warriors that saved Gaia, and more than that, he became a hero.

Again, Garnet though it would be best to avoid mentioning that Zidane was originally from Terra, and that his brother was the one that wrought chaos across the Mist Continent and the world as a whole. Not to mention his 'father' was the real villain. Even now, the only people outside their group that knew of Zidane's status as a genome, were Regent Cid, his wife Hilda, her dear friend and scholar, Doctor Tot, the gang from Tantalus, and of course the other genomes and black mages that now lived together in the Black Mage Village. And judging by the seclusion the village found itself in, the chance that the secret got out was next to none existant, at least for the foreseeable future.

And so, after a couple of months, it finally looked like their life had been set to a new routine. While Dagger spent most of her time busy, the plans for their wedding was well under way. For the sake of tradition and chastity, she and Zidane still slept in separate rooms, much to his chagrin. But then again, that didn't seem to deter him in the slightest, meaning she usually found herself with his arms and tail wrapped around her waist in the mornings and in the best case scenario she still had her clothes on, unlike Zidane, who apparently slept in the nude. She didn't really mind much, she knew they were eventually going to sleep together in a bed and then eventually going to 'make some heirs to the throne'.

Steiner however, completely disagreed. Though he had gained something of a grudging respect for the thief, that did not mean their relationship was all rainbows and butterflies. Zidane still had the habit of making Steiner blow his considerably short fuse, which usually ended with exchanged insults and threats of bodily injury, usually from Steiner. And as it was still his sworn duty to protect her, when it came to her chastity, he was going to make it damn sure that she would not be touched in any way of form until _after_ the wedding. Zidane had made sure to steer clear of him after their first little accidental encounter that happened while the knight was out on patrol. Indeed, Alexandria Castle would never be the same after the incident that resulted in an hour long pursuit all over the castle with a fully stripped Zidane running from the loud clanking wrath of one Adelbert Steiner. She could only be so thankful that only a handful of people had bared witness to the event and by the end of the day, it was only a 'baseless' rumor. After that, Zidane had cleverly decided to avoid the halls, instead resorting to enter her room through the unguarded balconies. He claimed it was a lot more romantic that way.

After many and such incidents, Garnet came to learn something very important about Zidane. Zidane did not believe anything was impossible. But the difference between him and many others that shared that same tenet was that Zidane did not accept or even reject warnings from others. No, the blonde thief took them as a _personal challenge_. She guessed it had something to do with the bets him and his brothers from Tantalus had the habit of partaking in. It certainly would explain why one night she found him swimming naked in the cold waters of the moat, while the rest of the guys cheering him on.

Another thing she had discovered in the past few months was there is NOTHING more dangerous than a bored Zidane. When bored, the blonde usually came up with ideas that were both potentially dangerous for himself and those around him, and those ideas were not limited to just irresponsible drinking. The last time he got bored, she found him literally jumping off the highest tower in the castle, a flimsy rope being the only thing that kept him from falling to his untimely death (and empty rum bottle in his right hand, but that was beside the point). And even before the bungee jump incident, as Zidane decided to call it, said blonde had snuck inside the royal bandersnatch quarters just to see if he could outrun them. Bandersnatches were large dog-like monsters with curly tails, long floppy ears, flat faces, small green eyes, large mouths with razor sharp teeth, and long slobbery tongues. Normally they were used by the castle to ward off intruders. Needless to say, although Zidane was very fast, he was not THAT fast. But much to everyone´s surprise, after having to wrestle them down because of his apparent lack of weapons, he apparently got the dog like creature's respect and loyalty by asserting his dominance. Said creatures would now follow him whenever he was in sight and would obey his every command (though most of the time they were limited to ´fetch´).

But Garnet felt that she simply couldn't stand by any longer and let her future husband partake in these seemingly idiotic ways of endangering himself. As a result, she knew she would have to find ways to keep him busy. At first she convinced him on taking classes on proper etiquette. While he did well enough, after a while he just got bored again and completely lost interest. Then she thought about having him privately tutored on everything from math, astronomy, to politics and geography. While he did enjoy anything related to writing and literature, and did fairly well in math (much to her surprise), Zidane greatly disliked politics, and particularly hated the stuck up scholar that taught geography. In his own words, Zidane called him a "stuck-up bookworm with all his tomes up his ass", and said he didn't even believe him when he said Gaia had actually three other continents besides the Mist Continent. After a particularly nasty jab at Zidane's background, Garnet found herself quickly dismissing the man.

One by one Zidane made it his personal mission to get rid of his tutors, and after a while the number of applicants dwindled dramatically until there were none left. Since the only scholar Zidane could stand was Doctor Tot, and because she really had no idea what else to do, Garnet decided to give her old teacher a call. The old scholar was quick to answer, and soon enough, he was tutoring Zidane like he once tutored her. By far, he had the best results. He was kind, caring, and treated others with respect. He even admitted his wish to learn from Zidane, just as the genome would learn from him. After a while, the old scholar had become something of a counselor. And as his unofficial counselor, it was Doctor Tot's opinion that continuing the lectures would prove to be unwise. He stated that Zidane lacked that sort of interest and it would only make Zidane more likely to try his 'stunts'. What he needed was a more hands-on activity to pursue, something that he would recognize as useful, or maybe even a hobby.

And after that, Zidane's stunts decreased dramatically. Doctor Tot suggested he trained daily with the Alexandrian guards which did prove highly beneficial, and while Zidane refused to become an Alexandrian knight (much to Steiner's relief) he was often found sparring against them and usually winning (much to Steiner's displeasure). Doctor Tot also decided to teach Zidane what he knew about brewing certain healing potions and elixirs, but much to the amazement of both, Zidane was actually quite good at it. Garnet could still remember just how shocked she was when she found out.

…

_After an afternoon filled with discussions of the new measures taken to incorporate steam powered engines to the previously mist run ships, Garnet could honestly say she was glad it was finally over. And now that the queen finally had some time to herself, she decided to check in with Zidane and Doctor Tot. _

_She walked through the halls, occasionally encountering a servant or two, and made her way to the study that she had provided for the sake of Zidane's lessons. Once outside the closed door, she was surprised at just how quiet it was. Normally you could at least hear Doctor Tot's lectures. Maybe they took their lesson outside today? She thought about just turning around and looking for them at the library or maybe the courtyard, but then settled for checking out the room first to be sure._

_She gently knocked the door twice before opening it. Inside, the first thing she noticed was the good doctor sitting down on a chair in quiet observation. He motioned her forwards but then brought a finger to his lips in a gesture to be quiet. Garnet nodded and then turned to look at what the scholar was looking at, only to almost fall over in shock._

_On the desk a whole chemistry kit was set up and in the middle of it all was Zidane, his face completely screwed in concentration while he was gently adding some thinly crushed powder into a bubbling flask. The liquid inside the flask turned into a clear blue, making Zidane's concentrated frown break into a smile. He turned to look at Doctor Tot, only to see a shocked Dagger making him ask the obvious._

"_What?" Zidane asked with a small pout. "You know, just cause I was raised by thieves doesn't mean-"_

"_I didn't mean anything, it's just, where did you learn that?" Garnet asked, more than just slightly surprised._

"_Well, you know. Boss wanted us to know this kind of stuff. Blank was actually the one that taught me. You remember that medicine he gave us when we crash landed in the Evil Forest? Well yeah, he made it. Who else do you think taught me how to use sleeping weed?"_

"_Oh." Was all that Garnet could say._

…

Zidane learned a lot of things from Doctor Tot and it was great while it lasted. But much like anything good, eventually it had to come to an end. Doctor Tot simply could not stay in Alexandria for too long since he still had his research waiting for him in Treno. And when the time came for him to leave, Zidane was ready to once again mock death right in the face. Garnet tried to find him something to occupy his mind with like a hobby, maybe collecting something or participating in some kind of sport or event, but she couldn't really think of anything. Zidane already collected a wide variety of daggers and thief swords (all of which he had mounted on his room´s wall). When it came to sports he would most like choose something dangerous like jousting or monster hunting. The only safe activity she could think of was playing Tetra Master, and Zidane was already kind of a professional at it. The answer to her problems came later in the form of a visit from the dragon knight, Freya Crescent.

Freya is Burmecian Dragon Knight and was one of the eight warriors that helped save the world. Burmecians were a proud race of anthropomorphic rat-like beings that lived in the permanently rainy city of Burmecia and, up until it was completely destroyed, also the hidden city of Cleyra.

…

"_So how's everything been?" Garnet asked before elegantly sipping her tea. Freya had come to visit as a well deserved break from her duties in Burmecia, and now both women found themselves seated comfortably in one of the rooms used for greeting visitors. _

"_It's been all surprisingly well. Burmecia is steadily recovering, Prince Puck of course still wants to travel the world so obviously nobody has seen him, but I'm sure he is fine, and well, it looks like Sir Fratley has been slowly regaining his memories. They said he probably won't recover everything, but that's more than I can possibly hope for. Falling again for each other is almost like a dream come true." Freya said before sipping her own tea through her thin muzzle._

"_That's great Freya! I'm really happy for you. It would be a real shame otherwise." Garnet said remembering when they first got a glance at 'Iron-tail' Fratley._

"_So how are your duties as queen so far? And what about Zidane, how has he been? Knowing him it must be hard since he is hardly the type to sit still." Freya said with a light chuckle._

"_That's the problem." Garnet said with a sigh and proceeded to tell the dragon knight everything._

"_I didn't know he could brew potions." Freya said with some surprise._

"_Neither did I, but I just don't know what to do. I don't want to walk down the halls one day and see him swinging naked from the chandeliers or something of that sort." Garnet said as she massaged her temples._

_Freya couldn't hold her laughter at the thought, making her chuckle in a rather lady-like fashion. "Well I am certainly no expert. But you are a white mage, correct? Maybe you should try to teach him magic. It may certainly teach him a thing or two about concentration and patience, and besides, since it would prove to be helpful combat-wise, I am sure he would at least try to learn it."_

…

Garnet remembered how she thought about what Freya said. Despite the popular belief, anyone could do magic. It was just very hard to accomplish in most cases. For starters, it required a lot of concentration, self control, and perseverance. Not to mention you needed to at least learn some incantations before learning to do a spell wordlessly. There were, however, some exceptions to the rule. Black mages for example, they simply had the innate ability to cast spells. Monsters as well, for them it was something basic and instinctive. But there was one thing that was common for all magic users. Knowing magic was a great advantage in combat, while swords or daggers could not penetrate a tough shell or reach a flying opponent, magic still could. And even if not used offensively against a foe, magic could still be used to heal or protect the caster.

Some of Zidane's attacks did rely on tapping into magic, the same went with other none-mage members of their group, but given that the magic was used without a traditional incantation and was therefore used more as a catalist to strengthen a physical action, it wasn't really considered a spell; not in the traditional sense, at least.

But then there were still several things that worried her. First and foremost, that magic could be dangerous if not properly controlled. Not to mention the sheer destructive force of some spells. Whenever she thought about it, she couldn't help but remember Kuja and his devastating Flare Star attack.

Zidane didn't use magic simply because he was never taught, but since he was created to succeed Kuja then chances were he probably could become a more than decent mage. While she was a bit reluctant to have Zidane learn magic, since it would therefore remind her of his brother, she had to admit, it would be best for his own safety. The more spells he mastered, the lower the chances of the Iifa Tree incident repeating itself. And with that thought in mind, she made a decision she would come to regret.

They started with simply black magic, nothing more powerful than fire, blizzard, and thunder spells. But after Zidane nearly blew up the entire left wing of the castle, only then did they realize what they had gotten into. Zidane simply had the habit of putting too much power into spells, most of the time resulting in things blowing up spectacularly. A simple misfire fire spell had turned Steiner into a human canon ball, whose only relief was landing in the moat rather than hard stone. The mage that was charged with tutoring the genome quickly resigned after a blizzard spell somehow _blew a wall to smithereens_. Garnet had simply no idea how Zidane even managed to do that. After those incidents, Dagger decided that for everyone's safety, they should just focus on white magic.

At first, Zidane had great problems when it came to self control. But thankfully, it looked like the genome was actually interested in the subject. So interested in fact, he actually made a trip to Daguerro's famous library, and then after a week away, he returned with a couple of books on magic and spells for beginners and also one book he got from his sister Mikoto after stopping by the Black Mage Village. Needless to say, if that book included the Flare Star spell, she was going to have a serious talk with Zidane's sister. But on the other hand, it looked like the blonde had finally found a real challenge, one that would surely keep him busy.

In little less than a month, Zidane managed to improve greatly, mastering spells like cure, dispel, esuna and scan. Those were the spells Garnet was more insistent on, since they were likely to save his life if he ever got into a bind. He had also grasped the basics of vanish, reflect, haste, and status inducing spells like blind.

But now it looked like things took a turn for the worst.

Garnet was brought back to the present as she heard a loud, familiar clanking approaching her, the tell tale signs that Steiner was coming. Garnet quickly opened the doors for the knight, not even waiting for the man to announce his presence by knocking. Now was simply not the time for such formalities.

"M-my Queen!" Steiner said making the effort to salute, Garnet simply couldn't wait longer.

"Steiner! What happened, is he okay?" Dagger asked trying to keep her worry in check, but failing miserably.

"W-we don't know yet, Beatrix should be back any minute. We put out the fire and stopped it from spreading …but, the courtyard, the training grounds, and most of the west wing are completely destroyed. We've confirmed that the explosion that caused the fires…they were of magical nature…most likely an attempted spell gone wrong. I'm very sorry." Steiner said with genuine sadness, but it was lost to the queen's shock.

Garnet felt like she couldn't even breathe. It was like a heavy weight was now pushing against her ribcage with intentions of crushing it completely. The reason? That courtyard was where Zidane had taken to practicing his magic. There had been accidents before, part of the west wing had to be partially rebuilt, but it was NEVER this bad. It was complete chaos. But, it couldn't be could it? Zidane simply wouldn't, _couldn't_ succumb to such pandemonium. He had made it out of several more dangerous situations before, why was this any different? Garnet tried to reassure herself with those facts, but still the fear clung to her, making her tremble slightly; dread sitting heavily in her stomach.

And then came the knock.

Garnet quickly looked towards the door to see General Beatrix standing there with a grim face.

"Did you find him?" Garnet asked, dreading and desperately wanting the answer.

Beatrix grimly gave the verdict, her each and every word echoing deep within the queen's heart.

"Your Highness, he is gone."

Without looking back, Dagger dashed through the castle to confirm her fears with her own eyes, but once she reached the decimated remains of the once beautiful courtyard, she found nothing but ash and rubble.

Zidane Tribal had disappeared off the face of Gaia.

**To be continued...**

...

A/N: Okay here's the deal. With exception to the second chapter that will likely be uploaded later today or tomorrow, this fic will be updated at least once a week. Most of the writing is done , but the editing and proofreading may take some time (considering I may not always have as much free time). In case I am absent or away for longer than a week my partner in crime (read beta) Crystal will be in charge of updates.


	2. Chapter 2: You're not in Kansas anymore

**Notes:**

Forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, but here it is: I do not own any of the characters from FFIX and Harry Potter, they are property of their respective owners.

Also I should warn many of you that this fic contains adult language, mainly coming from Zidane. I try to keep characters in character, and as someone raised in the streets with a band of thieves, I do not think very highly of Zidane's vocabulary. As for pairings, this story won't exactly focus on romance, there will be some romance, but it isn't this fic's focus. Pairings will be canon though, so heads up.

Chapter 2: You're not in Kansas anymore.

...

The first thing he realized was that it was completely and absolutely dark, darker than a moonless night or a bottomless pit, yet much like the moments before waking up, his mind could hardly comprehend what it all meant. The second thing he realized was that it was cold and slightly damp, not nearly cold enough to freeze, but enough to feel some discomfort. He was never one for comforts anyways so it didn't matter to him much. He could feel something rough beneath him and above him the air permeated a familiar, yet unsavory smell. If he could only recall what it was.

The next thing he became aware of was the great pain in his right side, slowly rearing its ugly head as his mind seemed to clear and everything became more vivid.

It wasn't until blue-green eyes slowly opened into slits, that Zidane realized that they were the major cause for the darkness. As his blurry vision focused, he realized that that another likely reason for that darkness was the night sky he currently found himself staring at. Few stars could be seen twinkling, which gave him the feeling that something wasn´t quite right. Even in Lindlum you could see more stars.

'_But then, where I am? What the hell happened? I was… in Alexandria, practicing in the courtyard!'_ Zidane stumbled to his feet but only managed to fall to his knees as a wave of vertigo hit him and a flare of pain blossomed from his right side. _'It's dark now, but it was just noon when I was practicing. How long was I out?'_

Clutching his injured side protectively, Zidane tried to close his eyes to dismiss the incoming wave of nausea but just didn't seem to help. He tried to get up again, but only managed to walk a few paces, only to throw up his last meal on the cold, hard pavement. It took him a series of deep breaths to make his retching fit subside, and when it finally did, Zidane admitted he felt a bit better.

This time he slowly got up, minding his right side, and finally took in his surroundings. He was in an alley, the buildings surrounding him being much taller than what he was used to. Beside his puddle of vomit was what looked like a huge grimy metal box with a lid on top. The lid was slightly ajar, letting him see inside, only to discover a large number of bags filled with trash. A couple of smaller cylindrical bins, also filled with trash could also be seen near the large one. Empty, shattered bottles of what he could only guess was booze littered the dirty alley he was in.

'_Well that explains the smell.'_ Zidane mused, tail swaying slowly.

He looked back at where he woke up, noticing the burn marks on the ground, then he noticed the slightly blackened things right in the center. He bent down to pick them up and noticed, with some surprise, that it was the books on magic he had gotten. Their covers were slightly charred, but otherwise they were perfectly readable, and thus by his standards, just fine. He almost dropped his books however, when his side decided to act up. With a wince, Zidane lifted his shirt and vest to check the damage. There were no broken ribs thankfully, but his skin was rapidly turning into a deep purple. It would no doubt become a handsome bruise in the morning. His right was slightly burned, but judging by the charred markings on the floor, he had gotten off easy. His biggest concern was with the bleeding cut on his right forearm and the scrapes along his arm, mostly because of the chance of it getting infected. Landing on the dirty concrete near piles of garbage obviously didn't help. Thankfully, a potion or a quickly cast cure could easily take care of that.

'_Which reminds me...'_ Zidane though as he reached behind him and gave a sigh of relief. He still had his pouch.

He had taken to carrying it around him all the time in case he got caught up in another adventure, or he had to leave Alexandria quickly. The magicked pouch could hold an almost ridiculous amount of items, and was a must for any adventure. In it was a set of first aid items, your typical potions, high potions, ethers, remedies, and the like. He had also taken to carrying his daggers just in case. Nothing too fancy, just a pair of Mage Mashers and Orichalcum, the latter being mostly for comfort seeing as it was his first dagger. Its blade was noticeably worn down from wear and tear to the point where it was nearly useless in combat. It didn't matter though since he always preferred just using a pair of Mage Mashers for being less bulky and easier to wield. In his bag he also kept a collection of seemingly miscellaneous items and artifacts, like Gysahl Greens, Kupo Nuts, Dead Peppers, his World Map, and a bunch of other things he got in their last adventure. They were things he never really got around to sorting out of his bag.

'_At least I have my things with me.'_ Zidane said, thanking the Eidolons that he was at least somewhat prepared. He put his three magic books into his pouch, and after casting a quick cure spell at his wound, so it would at least close, he decided to look into more pressing matters.

'_Like where the hell am I.' _

Zidane decided to make his way out of the alley so he could at least figure out in what city he was in, this was obviously not Alexandria nor Lindblum. Maybe it was Treno, if the run down alley was anything to go by. Or maybe it was a new rebuilt section in Lindblum, but it didn't make sense since this was hardly what he called 'new', besides, he had been there and even helped with the reconstruction. Moreover there was something not quite right with the air of this place, but he couldn't quite place his finger over what it was.

He was about to step out into the street beyond when Zidane simply froze. He could suddenly feel a buzz ripple through the air, it was like the feeling you got before getting hit by a particularly nasty thundaga spell. A foreboding feeling he knew all too well and made the hairs on his neck and tail all bristle and stand on end.

Then he heard it. There were a series of loud 'cracks' that reminded him of what snapping wood or bone sounded like. The sound brought shivers down his spine since they eerily reminded him of the Iifa Tree. Then he heard voices and approaching footsteps.

"Let's move quickly, the anomaly was detected in the next alley." Called a deep voice. It held a air of command and an accent he couldn't quite place. "Our mission as Aurors is to find out what caused it and neutralize it. Do not kill, I repeat, we need to take the one responsible back to questioning."

Zidane didn't know who these people were, the only thing he knew was that they were probably after him, and he sure as hell didn't want to know what they meant by 'neutralize'. Immediately his reflexes kicked in, years of being a thief told him that if he valued his life it was high time to turn tail and run. It was an automatic response at this point. Running was safer than fighting. It was not cowardice, it was strategy. Especially when you were injured, didn't know who your foes were and/or what they were capable of. He had never heard of any 'Aurors' or whatever the hell they called themselves.

Before he even registered what he was doing, Zidane found himself doing acrobatic jumps, propelling himself up the narrow alley and landing with cat-like grace on the top of the adjacent building. His tail extended to help him keep perfect balance despite his painfully throbbing side.

Now the genome was faced with a difficult decision, he could either get away safely, or wait to see what happened when those men ran into the empty alley. Be safe or risk it. Being who he was it was a bit of a no-brainer. His damn curiosity simply wouldn't allow him to walk away without knowing why these people were after him.

'_How did that saying go? Curiosity killed the cat?'_ Zidane mused.

'_Shit.'_

The genome quickly crouched down in a manner similar to a feline about to pounce but slowly edged himself closer to the ledge, just in time to see the strange group of individuals enter the now-empty alley. There were four of them and the first thing he noticed was their weird choice of clothing. Though he had seen mages wear robes before, the bright colors of fabric that these people wore made him think that they were actually wearing bizarre dresses. Ok, so some of them settled for plain black, but he could see that their leader, most likely the deep voiced man from before, was wearing bright purple robes. For a group that was trying to sneak up on him, they were making a damn great job at letting him know so. Had he been anywhere else than that alley, he could have probably seen them a mile away.

"Tonks, status." The deep voiced man said. Only then Zidane noticed that they were holding sticks. STICKS. Not even staffs, they were thin little sticks. But upon closer inspection, the genome noticed that there were tiny lights at the end of each stick. So maybe they were weapons?

"The alley is empty, the only sign of the anomaly are the scorch marks on the pavement. There is a slight trace of magic left, definitely a powerful spell, but not enough to trace it back to its caster." This time it was a woman who spoke, probably young based on her voice. Zidane quickly took interest.

He leaned in forward to take a better look, he couldn't see their faces, but noticed that the speaker was the only woman in the group. He could see she had bright pink hair that reminded him a bit of his trance form. She had pretty good physique though…

'_Dammit Zidane, get your head out of the gutter, you have a fiancé.'_ Zidane said, quickly shaking his head. Old habits die hard. He had to ignore his urge to go down there are flirt with her. That wouldn't be considered cheating would it?

Then Zidane remembered that girl could possibly want to kill him. "Dammit."

'_Crap, I said that out loud.'_ Zidane realized, too preoccupied with that to noticed that the strange buzzing had returned.

"_STUPEFY_!" One of the men cried out, a red beam shot out towards him. Zidane was barely able to dodge out of pure instinct, since he was a bit too preoccupied with the fact that the man SHOT OUT A FREAKING RED BEAM OF LIGHT FROM THE STICK. Not to mention that he was being called 'stupid'.

So those sticks were weapons then.

"Dawlish!" the deep voiced man called.

"I heard something coming from the top." The man identified as Dawlish said.

"Alright, then Proudfoot, go with Dawlish to investigate, we'll stay and make sure we don't have to obliviate any muggles. Use discretion." The deep voiced man said stressing on the last point.

The two men nodded and then there were another two 'cracks'. Beneath him the men had disappeared.

'_Crap.'_

The next moment, Zidane quickly realized that the ominous buzzing once again returned. This time he had a good feeling he knew what it meant. Before he had the chance to see for himself, he did what he should have from the beginning: turn tail and run, literally. Using his superb agility, he dashed through the rooftops like the master thief he was, leaping through the gaps between each building like it was nothing. He was able to register two loud 'cracks' behind him, some words, and then a flurry of colored beams of light aimed at him. He dodged most of them but one grazed him in the arm, his injured right arm, which hurt, and strangely enough made him feel like he had been hit by a 'drain' spell. Needless to say, Zidane soon realized two things: firstly, there was no way he could lose them if they could teleport and shoot beams at him like that, secondly, these people had managed to piss him off, he could not just run away from that.

Zidane managed to dodge another spell and this time he took refuge behind a chimney, feeling the foreign spells strike the brick. He was grateful for the fact that the moons were not shining in the sky tonight, otherwise their aim would be much better. He was nothing but a moving shadow to them, which reminded him of something else that made him even _more_ grateful. Genomes had keener senses than humans, and possibly other races. He discovered that early as a thief, though he didn't know why until much later. He had better night vision than most people, Dagger even said that sometimes in the dark, his eyes would reflect light much like a cat making them glow eerily.

'_In any case, time to show these people just who they are dealing with.'_ Zidane said with a smirk. It was also a good time to practice some spells he had been dying to try out.

Zidane quickly readied his first spell, he wasn't even going to bother bringing out his daggers for this fight. Now he just had to wait. Either they did their teleporting trick to get him by surprise, try to coax him to come with them, or attack head on. Neither would be pretty.

"You are hereby part of a criminal investigation, put your wand down and your hands up where we can see them. If not, you shall be charged with obstructing a Ministry investigation. We will not repeat ourselves again." One of the men said.

Zidane didn't answer. _'Criminal investigation? Wand? Ministry? What the hell were these people talking about? Was this some kind of sick joke? I didn't do anything wrong…lately. What did they even mean by the last two?!'_

"Well then. Dawlish!" The man called.

This time Zidane heard something like 'bombarda' and then the next thing he knew, the chimney blew up, sending dust and debris everywhere. But Zidane was ready, he heard a tell tale 'crack' right next to him and delivered a kick right into the man's stomach, effectively knocking the breath out of him. While this one was down, he turned towards the spot he knew the other man was at, just waiting for him to make his first move so he could pinpoint his location. Just as the dust cleared, a jet of red light flew past him, and this time after dodging it, Zidane finally unleashed his spell.

"My eyes!" The man cried out at the sudden blackout. Apparently he had never experienced 'blind'. Zidane looked at his proud work, happy of his accomplishment. Despite being a white magic spell, blind could do some real damage, especially if your fighting style required proper aim.

The blinded man was now panicking and shooting spells everywhere, black flame-like mist flickering over his eyes. Zidane winced as he felt a stray spell graze his tail. He decided then that it would be interesting to see what getting hit by one of the beams did. He had another spell in mind.

An iridescent bubble quickly surrounded him as Zidane finished casting 'reflect'. Just in time too, as one of those red beams managed to come his way. The beam struck the barrier, making the surface ripple, but was then shot back from whence it came, striking the man right in the chest. The effect was instant. One moment the man was blindly shooting everywhere and the next he was laying knocked out on the floor.

'_So that's what it does; instant knock out.'_ Zidane thought after taking note of how the man's chest still rose and fell with each breath.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the other man slowly getting up, while taking in great gulps of air. The man seemed to search for something, but then stopped when he saw his stick on the ground a few feet away from him. Quickly as if his life depended on it, the man scrambled to reach the piece of wood, but Zidane wasn't going to allow that. The blonde genome closed in on the man, fast enough to blur, and delivered a punch to his face that made the man fall like a rock.

"That's definitely going to hurt him in the morning." Zidane muttered with a smirk. But still he found it odd.

'_Why did he need the stick so badly? Even if he can't use hand to hand combat, he should at least be able to cast his spells without it right?'_

Zidane then decided to leave it at that, he did not need to waste time and give the other two the chance to come after him.

….

The deep voiced man, otherwise known as Kingsley Shacklebolt finished obliviating the last of the muggles that witnessed the event. That last drunken muggle would probably wake up to believe he passed out on the streetafter a night of heavy drinking.

Still, he wondered what was taking those two so long.

Normally this matter would be left to the department that handled improper use of magic, however, the magic they had detected was unlike any they had picked up before. Given the current state of affairs within the Ministry, the Auror Department had been called to settle matters. Fudge still diligently denied the possible return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but he also did not want to take any chances. To be specific, he did not want any of this to be revealed to the public, thus upmost secrecy was required.

"Tonks, we're done here, let's go back and find Proudfoot and Dawlish."

The currently pink haired metamorthmagus nodded and the two apparated to the roof of the building next to the alley. As an experienced auror, Shacklebolt felt a foreboding feeling when they realized that the place was empty. Just where were they?

He decided to try apparating further another two buildings over. There he saw his first clue, a blasted chimney. He walked further along, while Tonks tripped on the remains of a brick earning a look from the tall man. It was hard to see since the night was so dark, but after casting _lumos_ the scenewas illuminated with the soft light coming from his wand. Shacklebolt was about apparate elsewhere when he heard Tonks, once again trip a few feet away from him, only this time she couldn't regain her footing. He was about to pass it off given her innate clumsiness, when he heard a gasp from his companion. Turning quickly, Shacklebolt found a pale white haired Tonks looking at the 'thing' that made her trip. It was Dawlish.

He was currently lying unconscious with his wand on the ground before him. Shacklebolt was able to make out a nasty bruise forming on his left cheek as well as the beginnings of a black eye. A _rennervate_ spell later and he was up. Proudfoot was found a few meters away. Unlike Dawlish, he seemed to have been taken out using _stupefy_. His surprise however came after rennervating the man and seeing a black mist hovering in front of his eyes. Proudfoot claimed their target did it. He tried _finite_ and _finite_ _incantatem_, but to no avail. The only thing he could think of was that it was the work of dark magic, and if that was the case, he could not guarantee the man's recovery.

"Did you at least get a look at the suspect?" Shacklebolt asked. If they did, they could at least try to find a match up that would lead them to their man.

"No sir, it was far too dark." Dawlish said. "But there is one thing that I'm sure of, that thing sure as hell wasn't bloody human."

Shacklebolt pondered on those words as he returned from dropping Proudfoot off at St. Mungo's. Dawlish said that it was too dark to see what the creature looked like, but it had a long tail and beastly glowing eyes. According to the healers, the spell cast was nothing like they had ever seen before.

Just what he needed.

Not only did he have to keep up with the pretense that he was chasing after the mass murdering, (albeit falsely accused) Sirius Black, but also he also had to deal with the results of the Triwizard fiasco from last year, that resulted in the heavily denied return of the darkest wizard of their time, AND he still had his duties towards the Order of the Phoenix, which included spying from within the Ministry. Now he had to add a portal opening, anomaly causing, and never-before-seen dark creature in the loose?

Dumbledore was going to love this.

…

The next morning Zidane woke up from within the empty department he found/broke into the night before. At first he was startled when he realized he was no longer sleeping next to Garnet, but then yesterday's events came rushing back. He had no idea where he was. He was starting to think this place wasn't even on Gaia. As much as he hated the thought, he had to be realistic to himself. No city in Gaia or Terra was this big, and judging by what he saw last night, then this place was much, _much_ larger. This place also had some weird pieces of machinery, they had things like air cabs, but besides large public ones, they were also smaller personalized ones all rolling down the streets on four wheels. They let out some nasty smelling black smoke like they had some sort of engine, but they didn't seem to run on mist, or steam.

But at least he finally got some rest. That fight last night had really taken a toll on him, especially with his injuries, which were now completely healed after a few _cures_. He was actually quite surprised to find out that the occupants of this house were away. To be honest, he saw it as a blessing in disguise since he wasn't exactly sure what to expect from whoever lived here. Seeing as he was nearly blasted apart earlier, he wasn't exactly in the best mood to talk to the natives.

He got up and headed over to see if he could get something to eat, and at least get some gil, or whatever the hell they used here as currency. He found some food in what looked like a kitchen, to his amazement they had this large box attached to the wall, that when opened, revealed a bunch of perfectly refrigerated food. It had its own light inside and had a top compartment that was very cold, but it didn't seem to need ice, or magic like in Gaia. The wording on the contraption called it a 'refrigerator', which in a way was also comforting, since it meant that the written language still seemed to be the same.

After eating a bit, which Zidane was sure the owners wouldn't mind since they had so much food anyways, the teen headed into one of the rooms, which was mostly white and had what he recognized quickly as a toilet. Next to it however was something he didn't recognize. Well he recognized the bath, just not the snake-like thing dangling on the wall next to the bath. When he tried turning one of the two knobs underneath, water came out. Zidane was fascinated. He quickly learned that he could control how hot or cold he wanted it, then he decided he might as well just bathe. Garnet had pounded that routine in him after he started living in the castle.

'_Why can't we have thing like this back home?' _Zidane sighed in complete bliss. It was heavenly.

Zidane reluctantly finished and dried himself off. He then redressed himself and got his things ready to hit the streets. He knew he couldn't stay here for long, the owners would probably return soon, and if they found him here when they did, it wouldn't be pretty.

Before going out the door, he decided to wrap his tail around his waist and hide it amongst his belts. Last night before finding this place, he ran into a drunken man who looked at him, and then backed away from him like he was some kind of monster before passing out. He hoped it was because of the alcohol rather than fright. At first he was a bit confused since he didn't do anything to the man, but then he remembered that it was very dark out. The man probably only saw his tailed silhouette and what little light there was reflected off his eyes. What's more, these people probably didn't know about genomes. Now that he thought about it, so far he hadn't seen any other races other than humans, no Burmecians, no Qus, not even a Hippo-person in sight. It would make sense then, that they would be afraid of anything different from themselves. Even back at home he was sometimes called a freak.

'_Eidolons this is uncomfortable, how Kuja did it is beyond me.'_ Zidane thought as he fought against the urge to uncoil his tail. He would definitely have to find a more permanent solution later.

The blonde decided that the first thing he would need to do is fit in. The last thing a thief wants is to stick out like a sore thumb, and based on the clothes he had seen people wear in the street, he would definitely need a new wardrobe, though he sure as hell wasn't doing to wear one of those dress 'robe' thingies. In any case, for that he needed some money. So in reality the first thing he needed was money.

That thought in mind, Zidane decided it was best to find a very crowded place, which luckily, he found very fast. It looked like some kind of busy square. Oddly enough, there were stairs that led underground. Apparently it was like some odd type of transportation that was like the mix between a very long serpentine cab and a gargant. They called it the 'tube'. He did not take it however, but instead took advantage of the sheer amount of people coming out of the subway and into the square to steal from unsuspecting targets. It was actually quite funny, how easy it all was to distinguish the rich. He believed it had to do with the way they looked down at the congregated people all around them. He particularly hated those, they reminded him too much of those pompous nobles back at home.

He was intrigued to see some of the people stop by these long rectangular machines that had buttons and a screen. They would put in a card, press in different buttons and the machine would give them this prints of paper. After stealing a wallet from a man, he came to realize that these people's currency was called 'British pounds' and these people valued the paper prints much more than the metal coins, which he found odd. The coins were not made of gold or silver, but surely even the metal was worth more than common paper.

The thief made sure to nab enough wallets for food and clothing, but he also made sure he did not steal from the common folk, just from those he was sure wouldn't miss the extra cash. In any case as far as he could see, he wasn't the only thief in the crowd. In fact, there were plenty of other pickpockets here and there. He was just lucky that, besides an odd look here and there, he didn't stand out that much. Everyone just assumed he was a street performer. In fact, there were many others characters that stood out far more than he did. In fact, he saw a couple of guys clad in black leather whose hair styles reminded him of a zaghnol.

After he was done with his 'fund gathering', he decided now was the best time to look for some clothes. He found a nice shop amongst the many galleries this place was filled with. Inside he found a wide variety of differently styled clothes and even some shoes. He still wasn't sure how things in this place worked, so he walked up to the dark haired shop clerk that was reading some kind of pamphlet with many pictures of people in it, while chewing on some pink candy that could be shaped into large bubbles.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me get some clothes, I'm afraid I am completely lost when it comes to it." Zidane said, trying to put his best charming-yet-cute guy act.

The girl in question raised a single eyebrow while giving him a once-over, as if impressed. "Sure. You an actor or something? You sound foreign, are you American?"

'_Sure let's go with that, though technically I AM an actor.'_ "Yeah I am. I just got off work, but I didn't get the chance to change." Zidane said sheepishly, just to get into the role.

"Anything you're looking for in particular?" The girl asked again with a smile. Her eyes however, were looking at him like he was a piece of meat.

"Not really, it's just casual wear. Something comfortable and easy to move in, I guess." Zidane said with a shrug. The clerk just rolled her eyes, as if saying 'typical'.

"Alright then, come this way." The girl said, only this time she has an unsettling gleam in her eye. Zidane winced a bit, unconsciously wrapping his tail a bit harder around himself. He had a bad feeling about this.

And he was right. The crazy clerk kept handing him several outfits, insisting on having him wear them, or more like _model_ them. She had nearly run into him while his tail was hanging freely, but thankfully he had averted that crisis. It was a close call though. In the end and after a complete two hours or trying out clothes, Zidane finally got what he came for, and more. In the end he left the shop with about five pairs of pants. Four being baggy (ranging from his preferred blue shades and one of them black) and the other being a pair of blue jeans (the clerk insisted he would need some and Zidane reluctantly agreed, but as long as they weren't tight like the one she wanted him to buy). He got several hoodies and sweatshirts with designs on them that would replace his favorite vest, a bunch of T-shirts since he disliked the long sleeved ones, a pair of sneakers and a pair of boots, socks, and underwear as well. Finally, he also got some thicker jackets, since the clerk commented that the weather would get much colder later around October. Apparently, Zidane was lucky that he arrived when he did.

Zidane left the shop wearing a new outfit while his old clothes and everything else were put in shopping bags. He admitted that these new clothes were pretty comfortable, much more than he thought they would be. He wasn't accustomed to owning so many clothes. In Gaia most people owned one or two sets of clothes and maybe formal wear if they were lucky. He had just gone along and bought as much because he didn't want to stand out.

Thankfully, this world's fashion was one he could agree with. In fact, his current outfit wasn't all that different. It looked more like this world's version of what he would normally wear, only far more comfortable. The only things he would miss would be his vest and neck piece, everything else didn't stand out as much and could be worn with his new clothes, even his old boots and gloves. As for his ponytail, he decided to tie his ribbon around so it looked more like a hair tie, than a bow.

He was also quite happy that he could still use his thief gloves in this outfit, truth be told, he had been wearing them for so long, he actually felt naked without them, and not in a good way. They didn't just protect his hands; they were almost a part of his essence. If he could recall correctly when he started wearing gloves, he would say it started when the Boss was teaching him how to steal. But the real reason he stopped taking them off afterwards was because of the jabs the others would make, saying he had girly hands. That, and he had the habit of accidentally scratching others. Looking back, he could now say that it was another one of those 'genome' things. At first glance, anyone wouldn't see anything different about his hand, but if you really took the time to look, you would notice his nails, which were called 'feminine' by others, were deceivingly sharp and also very tough.

Zidane took a bite out of his burger as he walked around to find out more about this city. He had just discovered the wonders of fast food. Though the taste wasn't exactly top cuisine, it was still much better than most of the stuff he ate as a kid, and strangely addicting. It was also cheap, fast to prepare, and easy to carry around and eat with your hands. It was however, very fattening, which the thief didn't really mind since he needed as much energy as he could get his hands on.

That same day he decided he had more than enough money left to spend on lodging. He recently discovered what alarms and security systems were like over here, and he DID NOT want to risk getting caught. The idea of machines that serve solely for watching you and this 'big brother' thing kinda freaked the shit out of him a little. Instead he was able to find a nice, small, affordable inn, to spend the week at.

In the following days he learned a few other things about this place. Particularly from a large library he found. He was most definitely not on Gaia, a revelation that had been a hard pill to swallow. The world he was in was called 'Earth' which only had one moon. He was currently in a city called 'London' which was located in 'England', meaning that these people were called 'English' like the language, and not 'limeys' as he heard other people call them. England is located in a sort of separate continent (that's the only thing he could describe it as) called 'Great Britain'. The country itself seemed to be bigger though, and confusingly enough, was called 'The Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. Why they simply didn't use the same name for the country and its capital was beyond him.

Oh and there was one more thing. It was 1995 here, not 1800 like it was the last time he bothered to check a calendar. Either these people started recording history before those in Gaia, or he managed to travel 195 years into the future. He was dearly hoping for the first alternative.

'_If not, then congratulations! You're 211and still young.'_ Zidane thought sarcastically.

There was one thing in Zidane's mind that continued to bug him throughout the day though. He had spent so long just looking around in the streets and he had yet to see another group like the one that attacked him. Likewise, he had yet to see any signs that magic was commonly used here, most of this world got by using technology, but it was as if they completely forgot about magic. There were a few magic shows and tricks though, but he knew those were your typical sleight of hand. The only sign he saw that real magic existed were those people with the sticks. He couldn't even feel any magic in the air around him like he could back in Gaia.

It was a bit depressing.

And now that he had the basics of food, water, and shelter, Zidane thought now was the time figure this whole mess out. He sat cross legged on the floor of an empty building that although structurally sound, was going to be torn down to make way for a bigger building. Sneaking in here was painfully easy, and since most people don't usually go inside condemned buildings, it was the perfect place to practice.

On his lap he had one of the three books that he had brought with him. This one in particular was the one Mikoto gave him. It was written in Terran and contained a several notes on spell casting, as well as a few spells that were lost to Gaia. At first he had told Mikoto he couldn't understand Terran, but as it turned out, he could. The strange, yet familiar symbols struck a chord inside him. In his mind the words just clicked. Mikoto said the knowledge was all there in his head. He just had to reach out for it. And she was right, after a few tries, Zidane found himself remembering the language. Apparently he had even used it several times without realizing it. And though he told this all to Garnet, there was one little tid bit of information that he kept to himself. He just knew Garnet wouldn't take it well. Apparently this book was the same Kuja used to learn magic, the notes written all over on the margins were all Kuja's work.

Which brought him to another point.

The spell he had been trying to learn was the same one Kuja used to get them out of Terra. It was called 'warp' or also known as 'banish', and it instantly transported the target anywhere. And though it was a bit complicated, Zidane was really intrigued. With this spell, he could safely escape danger, banish his foes, and even appear and disappear anywhere he liked. But it was risky. Apparently it took a lot of concentration and a bad enough error could be fatal, or as the book said, 'send him to the void', whatever that was.

'_But noooo, I just had to be so stubborn and try it out.' _

Indeed after carelessly pumping magic into the spell, it just collapsed on itself, and backfired. And now here he was, stuck in a completely different world, with a bunch of cross-dressing, stick waving mages after him. He had no clue how to get back, because hell would freeze over and Amarant would start wearing hot pink dresses before he tried that spell again.

'_I'm such an idiot!'_

And then he thought about Garnet, which made him feel ten times worse.

'_She must think I'm dead or injured somewhere. Eidolon__s,__ I'm such an idiot. And just when we were finally together in our 'happily ever after'. For Odin's sake, we were getting married soon, and now I just blew it!'_

Zidane felt like punching the nearby wall, so he did. The wall cracked and his hand hurt like hell, but he felt much better. He closed his eyes, but when he opened them once more, they were filled with resolve. His tail swished as he stood up and got in position.

'_That's it. I'm going home if it's the last thing I do. Garnet, I promise you I'll return.'_

With his promise made, Zidane concentrated on his target and shot the first spell, effectively trapping the discarded can in a thick layer of ice.

…

Elsewhere in the suburbs of Little Whinging, within the English county of Surrey, a teen with jet-black, messy hair was currently was currently hunched over while working on the garden before him. To be more specific, the boy's name was Harry James Potter, resident of number 4 Privet Drive, where he lived with his uncle, aunt, and cousin. He was a skinny boy, with bright emerald colored eyes behind black rimmed glasses, and an odd lightning shaped scar beneath the messy hair on his brow. He had the look of someone who had grown too much in too little time, with not enough food to fuel the growth, and yet, the clothes he wore looked much too big for him. They were baggy, faded, and even ripped in some places, but the boy knew better than to complain. And while one had to disagree with the teen's decision of weeding a wilting garden under the harsh heat of July, the reason for this was as obvious as it was true. He simply had no say in the matter.

Since the tender age of 1after the tragic deaths of James and Lily Potter, Harry had been forced to live with his despicable relatives who considered him somewhat of a family 'pariah', and slave. It was more than clear to him that, were he not related to the Dursleys by blood, he would have been left at some orphanage without a second glance. And even then, his relatives had hardly given him his basic needs for survival. For the first eleven years of his life, he had slept in the small cupboard under the stairs, while his cousin Dudley had an entire room just for his toys. It wasn't until after that, that they reluctantly gave him a room. And even then, when he was twelve, he had bars installed into his window, a cat door installed into his door and several locks installed to keep him inside. All of that for an accident that was not even his fault.

Throughout the neighborhood, he was only known as the Potter boy, an incorrigible delinquent that attended St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys, that of course, being a complete lie fabricated by his Uncle, Vernon Dursley. If he had to say why his relatives hated him so much, the answer was as truthful as it was unbelievable. Though he did not look like anything special, Harry Potter was in fact a wizard. And since he became 11 years old, he had started attending Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he had made a home and great friends, even if each year danger seemed to be attracted to him like a moth to the flames. It didn't help that he was considered famous. All because he survived a spell that instantly kills, and sent it back to the evil wizard that killed both his parents. Who unfortunately survived, despite his massive loss of power.

Last year had been particularly horrible. He ended up having to compete in a dangerous tournament that was all part of a plot made by the aforementioned wizard, Lord Voldemort, to bring him back to power. In the end, he ended up witnessing the man's return, and the untimely death of his fellow Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory. Even now he would relive the events and revisit that graveyard in his dreams. And when he didn't, he kept dreaming of dark labyrinth –like corridors.

And to make manners worse, no one was telling him anything! Even though he would constantly write to his friends and send his snowy owl, Hedwig, with letters. They would insist on leaving him in the dark.

Harry got up from where he was kneeling on the yellowing grass. The hot weather and the intense drought did nothing to quell his rising anger. He knew it was going to get worse though. The recently made bans on the sprinklers made his task of weeding the garden all the more frustrating. Why weed a garden that will shrivel up and die anyways? He had spent less than a week in this place and he already wanted to jinx something with his wand _badly_, be it against the rules or not.

Indeed, even now as a boy of nearly 15 years of age, Harry Potter could still say he passionately hated this place.

To be continued...

...

A/N: A lot of exploring in this chapter. Also first encounter with wizards, which went as well as many of you would expect.

Zidane always struck me as a pretty resilient character, just able to adapt quickly to situations and come out stronger. He knows what to do to survive and so this chapter was mostly about that. Last bit about Harry was mostly a formality for those few who haven't read the books (I know that you wouldn't really be reading a HP fic otherwise , but still, bear with me).

Zidane will be meeting more HP characters in the next chapter, so look forward to it. Also, reviews are greatly appreciated.

Also, if any of you would like to go the extra mile and help someone out, then please head to my profile and check out the link there. Thank you all for reading.


	3. Chapter 3: It's a Small World After All

**Notes: **Happy (late) Valentine's Day and thanks to everyone who's bothered to read so far!

As promised here is chapter 3, and as always, I'll be keeping it to at least a chapter a week. Reviews are VERY welcome (and a huge inspiration for writing...just saying).

If you guys wanna go the extra mile and help someone out, then please head over to my profile (under 'update') and follow the instructions. This will only be valid until the the 16th of February at 23:59 GTM -3.

Chapter 3: It's a Small World After All

...

Zidane sighed in defeat as he finished checking out the section of the library. He had been in this world for two weeks and there was nothing. It was just as he feared. There were no books concerning magic or spells. Those that did were all part of the fiction section of the library, right where the fairy tales were. To be fair he did find some interesting books. Apparently this world had its own version of Lord Avon called William Shakespeare. Two of his plays reminded him so much of 'I Want to Be Your Canary', those were 'Romeo and Juliet': a tragic story of a couple that can't be together because of their feuding families, and 'King Lear': the story of a foolish king who divides his lands between two of his three daughters. Zidane was very surprised with this discovery.

He also read through some other interesting books which were listed under 'classics'. He found he could read and understand them better that a lot of the modern ones, 'Don Quixote', 'Through the Looking Glass', 'Twelfth Night', 'The Iliad', 'The Odyssey'. Those were some of the books he quickly leafed through. He almost burst out laughing when he came across 'Journey to the West', particularly the character called 'the monkey king'. That was probably what most people would call him once he started ruling Alexandria with Dagger. Rusty would probably be the first one to coin the term.

He read modern classics, but not as many since they made references of technologies he did not know about. He learned so much from the History Texts and Encyclopedias though. Usually he wasn't very keen on sitting for so long in libraries but, not only was it necessary now, but it was also very interesting. He instantly found his brain soaking up all this knowledge like a sponge. He still had to admit, what he liked the most is that a lot of the books here had pictures in them.

Yep, he definitely liked the pictures.

But even the pictures did nothing to quell the depression that was threatening to overwhelm him. He was practically at a standstill. He had no resources whatsoever. He couldn't even try to leave Britain since he recently learned that he needed some form of identification to do so. Basically he was breaking the law just by being here. And there really was no solution since he couldn't just walk in a police station (as he learned they were called) and tell the men there that he just magically landed there. They simply wouldn't believe him. He could try to demonstrate he was from another world by doing magic or showing his tail, but that would probably only land him in a cage to be poked and prodded by scientists. At least, that's what many books he skimmed over said.

He knew he wouldn't be considered normal in this world. At least on Gaia he could always blend in with the mix of races that populated each city; he was just a single strange hue hidden in rainbow of colors.

So with a whole week worth of wasted efforts browsing books in a Library and a heavy, homesick heart, Zidane decided it was time to call it a day. It was still midday, but he had been there since the early morning when it opened, so his eyes were tired and kept seeing words everywhere like their image was forever burned into his retinas. He did not want to see another library for a long, long time.

What he really needed at the moment was a very stiff drink. Midday or not, he had more than earned it.

And with that thought in mind, he headed over to find the nearest pub. He was just about to cross the street when he remembered that he was rather unfamiliar with the area past the library. He decided to retrace his steps, but then realized that he was so caught up on the thought of alcohol that he forgot where he came from, or even just how long he had been walking. He took a deep breath and decided to cross the street anyways. He had already checked out of the inn this morning and all his possessions were with him at the moment. It looked like he would be finding a new place to stay tonight.

He walked further until he reached a very large square filled with so many people. Just how many people lived in this place? He saw so many foreigners as well, maybe they were tourists. It made sense since many of them were boarding red double-decker buses. He saw tall people, short people, young people, and old people. Some wore brightly colored shirts while other formal looking suits. There were also some bizarrely dressed people too. He barely caught a glimpse of a teen with spiky brown hair, wearing an outfit with big baggy shorts and even large yellow shoes. Suddenly he was very glad he got new clothes so he didn't stick out like _that_.

There were lots of locals and many exotic looking foreigners as well. As he walked past a couple of men whose accents sounded exactly like that of the dwarves in Conde Petie, he had to suppress the urge to chuckle and call out 'Rally-ho!'. He had learned those men were from a place to the north called Scotland, and would most likely not take very kindly to his call.

The teen continued to walk, keeping an eye for a pub, eventually walking into a crowed main street called 'Tottenham Court Road'. After walking a bit more amongst the throngs of people, who would occasionally push and shove him, Zidane decided he had enough. The blonde walked away from the currents of walking people and decided to do something that would go against his nature as a thief and a man. He was going to ask for directions.

"Get off me you wanker!"

"Aww come on, how can you say no to this!"

Zidane turned to look at the bickering pair to his right. It was a local man in a suit with what sounded like a foreigner, most likely an American, based on his accent and how he was dressed as a tourist. Both had blonde hair, but only the foreigner wore glasses. This strangely loud man was currently pushing what he recognized as a hamburger at the other man's face, therefore obscuring it from view.

"I said I don't like your bloody junk food!"

Zidane decided to interrupt the two, since his need for booze was reaching critical limits.

"Excuse me!"

Both men turned to look at him, and Zidane saw the other man's face, noticing that the gentleman had some …particularly large eyebrows., in fact, he as finding it quite difficult to look away.

"Yes, did you need something?" The man asked while looking him over as if trying to place him.

"Uh, yeah!" Zidane snapped out of his stupor. _'Don't look at his eyebrows, don't look at his eyebrows, don't look at his eyebrows.'_ "Would you happen to know where I might find a good pub?"

The man eyed him weirdly but then pointed to a street. He supposed it must have sounded strange seeing there must have been plenty of pubs around. The American man was next to him slurping loudly from his drink. "You can head over there to get to Charing Cross Road. There are several pubs there to choose from."

"Alright, thanks." Zidane said with a wave and headed over to where the bushy browed man pointed him towards.

"Is he American?" The British man asked. His companion shook his head.

"Nope."

…

Zidane grumbled irritably under his breath, as he exited the pub. This one was the third he tried in the street, and yet none of them would give him what he wanted. One of the men in the place had even tried to flirt with him, earning him a swift punch in the face.

'_Who did that drunken scumbag think I was! And what the hell did they mean he wasn't old enough? Why in Alexander's name did he have to be at least 18 to get a drink? He was raised in the streets! His first drink was at the age of 8, probably even earlier!'_

That wasn't a lie. Baku would sometimes mix it with their drinks as kids just so they would shut up. Not exactly the best parenting, but having to put up with all of them as kids made Zidane feel sympathy for the old man.

'_That poor bastard.'_

But never mind that, these people refused to sell him anything. They said he looked to be 15 years of age, and with no form of identification to prove he was actually turning 17, Zidane was screwed. Not that proving his age mattered since he was still under 18. Apparently he was old enough to save the world, but not enough to get a drink.

He had been told often that he didn't look his age. He knew that being a genome was partially responsible. Garland probably wanted his angels to last. He was on the shorter side of average height, which could also be due to his poor nutrition as a child. His eyes were bright and youthful, while his body somewhat skinny, but lean and very fit. He had a young though slightly feminine face, which many women found charming. For that reason, Baku would sometimes make him play the female characters in plays. It was pretty embarrassing, but overall, Zidane sort of grudgingly understood. Better him than Cinna in any case. But that didn't mean he was cool with being taken for a girl, especially when flirting was involved.

Zidane was actually okay with the way he looked, tail and all. But NEVER in his life had his looks stopped him from getting what he wanted like they did now.

He still felt fairly insulted, but despite this he refused to give up. He _would_ get a drink. And with that thought in mind, he continued along the street towards his noble quest.

A few more pubs later and Zidane found himself losing hope. He felt like these people were purposely out to make him miserable in any way they could. He was nearing a couple of book shops, past what looked he vaguely identified as a blue police box from one of the books he read, and was a bit surprised that the amount of people in the street had greatly decreased. He realized it must be a bit past lunch, based on how his stomach grumbled. The blonde took a look at some of the dirtier, more abandoned buildings around him and raised an eyebrow when he saw the dilapidated sign outside one of the buildings.

'_The Leaky Cauldron. What a strange name.'_

Zidane approached the building. It was very run down, and from what he knew about run down places, they were usually less strict when it came to rules.

'_Perfect, maybe I can get something to eat while I'm here.'_

Zidane was only a couple of feet away when he completely froze.

'_No. Way.'_

The genome's eyes widened in realization. He wasn't imagining it. There it was, floating in the air all around him. He could _feel_ the magic. Its humming was like familiar music to his ears, not like the eerie buzz of a spell about to be unleashed, but more like a comforting white noise, barely noticeable, but still there. He then felt a smile tug on his lips. He found the magic, like a needle hidden amongst a haystack, he did it! There was a chance he would meet people like the ones that attacked him, but even that was better than nothing. He had finally found a honest-to-Eidolons lead.

Zidane opened the door to the establishment and was greeted by a scene like those he was more familiar with. A dingy, dark pub with its occupants talking in hushed voices. Run down tables here and there, with sparsely decorated stone walls. Candles lit the room unlike the modern electric lights he had seen in this world so far. Were it not for the oddly dressed individuals, and the lack of any other races, he would have thought he was back home.

The moment he opened the door, silence seemed to reign as the people inside stopped talking to look at the new arrival. Zidane was already used to such reactions so he just ignored the odd looks he got, closed the door behind him, and then walked over to the bar, not failing to noticed that a lot of these people where holding sticks. He was then greeted by the barkeep, a very bald, toothless man. He looked kind and sorta reminded him a bit of Bobo, the barkeep in Lindblum, you know, except for the whole bald and toothless bit.

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, I'm Tom Mr…"

Zidane was about to reply, but then though it was probably a bad idea to give out his name. At least that's the kind of thing Freya would tell him. That, and to stop flirting.

"Marcus, Marcus Crescent." Zidane said as he shook the man's hand. _'Freya is going to kill me if she finds out I used her last name. Marcus wouldn't mind, I could always say I just got it from 'I Want to Be Your Canary'.'_

"So what can I do for you? Food, lodging, anything?" The man said and Zidane then noticed that he too had a stick like everybody else here.

"Actually, both. And I could also use a drink or two." Zidane said trying to look as natural as possible.

"Let me see…here, room 9 is available. That would be five sickles the night, meals included."

Zidane paused, his search for a drink completely forgotten. _'Sickles? Is that some kind of currency?'_ "I'm sorry I only have British pounds with me."

"You'll need to exchange your muggle money at Gringotts then. Do you want me to show you the way to Diagon Alley?" The toothless man said.

"Sure, it would really help. Thanks." Zidane said, but inside the questions kept coming. _'Muggle? Gringotts? Diagon Alley?'_

"Alright, come this way." Tom said, motioning him to follow him through this door at the back of the pub.

Zidane expected a lot of things. What he didn't expect however, was to be lead to a tiny courtyard in front of a brick wall. Zidane could only stare blankly at the wall and wonder if the barkeep was missing more than just his hair and teeth. Like perhaps his sanity.

"This is how you do it; you take out your wand, and tap the bricks in this order." Tom said while taking out his stick and taping the bricks above a trash can, three up and two across."

'_So the sticks are called wands then.'_

At first he thought the man before him was just messing with him, but then after tapping the bricks, he was left slack jawed when the bricks started shifting to form a large archway. Beyond the archway was a street filled with people dressed in brightly colored robe/dress things. There were a series of shops at each side of the street, which greatly reminded him of Alexandria, except this place was absolutely buzzing with magic.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Tom said before excusing himself and leaving him to his devices.

Zidane stepped slowly into the street and was a bit surprised at the bricks positioned themselves back. With a shrug, he decided to go find this 'Gringotts' place. He passed many shops, as well as stands, and many peddlers, looking at their signs to see if he'd found the place, but to no avail. He really should have asked Tom what the place looked like. But it didn't matter. He was actually quite interested by the many shops. It seemed like all the magic he hadn't seen since getting here was all gathered in this one street. He passed a shop selling cauldrons, and an apothecary that sold all sorts or herbs and animal body parts. There was a shop that sold 'Quidditch supplies', and while Zidane had no idea what those words meant, he was surprised to see broomsticks, gloves, and clubs on the display. He was even more surprised to see that the pictures that were hung up _moved_. It showed many men in uniform-like robes flying in the brooms and playing what looked like a game around three hoops.

'_That is so cool.' _

While the men looked pretty ridiculous flying on brooms of all things, Zidane admitted that flying without the need of an airship was pretty awesome, even better than flying on Choco. Though having a stick jammed in your nether regions for extended periods of time had to be uncomfortable.

He moved on past a shop called 'Eeylops Owl Emporium'. Why one would want a pet owl was, once again, beyond him. The whole owl thing reminded him of the Black Mage Village, where you had to follow the path deep into the forest where even owls didn't go.

He also passed by a stationary shop, a quill shop, a shop that sold some crazy magical instruments, a bookshop called 'Flourish and Blotts' (which he would make sure to check out later), a shop that sold the weird robes everyone was wearing , known as 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions', and also, surprisingly, an ice cream shop. It didn't tseem to be a magical ice cream shop either, just a regular looking ice cream shop. When Zidane saw the shop's name, he had to roll his eyes.

''_Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor'. __What it is with these people and ridiculously long shop names?'_

He continued looking at the odd shop displays, wondering if one of these shops was the famous 'Gringotts', when he suddenly saw a huge building looming past the robe shop. It was made of what looked to be white marble, and had slightly crooked pillars in the entrance. It somewhat reminded him of some high class mansion he had broken into, minus the crooked pillars. It gave him a pretty good feeling otherwise. He walked a bit closer and this time noticed the golden inscription above the entrance, carved into the marble.

'_Gringotts Bank'_ Zidane read, a smirk forming on his face. _'Bingo.'_

He walked up the entrance noticing two sets of doors, one of them gold and the other one silver. He also saw a long inscription that was really more of a warning than anything.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there. _

Zidane's smirk only got bigger. It was almost as if the warning was directly aimed at him. He actually had to make the effort of keeping his tail wrapped around him, instead of happy wagging like it desperately wanted to. More than a warning, the genome saw it as a dare, _a challenge_. Zidane quickly shook his head, trying his hardest to resist the urge of stealing. He had just gotten here, he had no idea what defenses they had, and more importantly, he still had a lot more to see. He couldn't afford to risk getting caught, at least not now…maybe later.

The blonde genome walked inside the large reception. It was pretty luxurious looking, complete with oak desks and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Walking around the place were possibly some of the ugliest beings he had ever seen. Well, in all honestly he had seen worse. But that didn't make the creatures before him look any more appealing.

"First time seeing a Goblin I take it. Can I help you with something?"

Zidane turned towards the source of the voice. It was a tall red head with long hair pulled into a ponytail like his. He was wearing some very particular clothes, including rough leather boots and an earring with a fang on it, which Zidane thought looked pretty cool.

'_Wait, those are goblins? They have goblins here? They look so different from the ones on Gaia.' _Zidane thought but then realized the man had asked him a question. "Actually, do you know where I can exchange some British pounds, into…what they use here."

"Ah, you're a foreign wizard right? Name's Bill Weasley." Bill said as he offered his hand to shake.

'_So these people called themselves wizards.'_"Yep, Marcus Crescent, nice to meet you." Zidane said, shaking his hand. He decided he liked this guy, he kinda reminded him of Blank.

"Right then, follow me."

Zidane followed the tall man, right to a stall with one of those goblins sitting at the counter.

"Here we are. Ragnok, Mr. Crescent would like his muggle money exchanged."

Zidane exchanged all the 'muggle' money he had into 'wizarding' currency. Bill was nice enough to explain to him how it all worked.

"There are three coins, the gold ones called 'galleons', the silver ones 'sickles', and the bronze ones 'knuts'. It's twenty-nine knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon."

Zidane also asked a bit about 'Wizarding Britain', which he learned was governed by the ministry, with the prime minister at its head. Apparently there were some problems going on. He didn't understand it much, but according to Bill, there was an incident in June that ended with the death of a student at some school, and the claims of the return of an evil wizard. The current prime minister (what kind of name is Fudge?) denied those claims and insisted that all was well. But like all politics, the rabbit hole ran far deeper. Fudge was most likely trying to avoid any instability, in case of any political competitors. But if this evil wizard really was back, then this magical society was screwed.

Zidane thanked Bill and left the bank. He bought an ice cream at the ice cream parlor and decided he might as well explore. This wizarding community seemed to use spells for _everything_, not just combat. Which was useful, but he then learned most wizards needed a 'wand' (stick) to cast these spells, and without them they were pretty much useless.

'_So that's why the man wanted his stick so badly.' _Zidane thought back to the fight he had with one on the roof, and came to a conclusion. _'They depend way too much on magic.'_

Zidane spent the rest of the day looking at the odd and sometimes comical things he found in shops. He particularly liked a joke shop he found by the name of 'Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop'. He also passed by a pet shop called 'Magical Menagerie', mostly from curiosity at the odd animals they sold. Zidane ended up buying the local newspaper, called the Daily Prophet, mostly to get a hang on what was going on in this secret little society. He passed a wand shop, whose sign was old and peeling so he didn't quite get the name, but he didn't enter since the place looked pretty abandoned from the outside at least.

The teen also passed by this alternate little street called 'Knockturn Alley' which was every definition of dark and creepy. He only spared a quick glance at some of the sometimes gruesome things on display before deciding it was best to leave.

Since he kept getting weird looks from some of the wizards around him, he decided to pass by that Madame Malkin's shop. He REFUSED to get a dress, but thought he should at least get a travelling cloak. Possibly a black one like the one he wore for the play before being reunited with Dagger.

"But are you sure you don't want a nice turquoise robe? It would match beautifully with your eyes." Said Madam Malkin, the squat overly friendly woman who ran the shop.

"Yes I'm sure, just a cloak will do. Thank you." Zidane said while trying his best charming grin to get the woman to back off. It worked.

"All right, there are some charms we can add to the cloak for a small fee, would you like to see them?"

"Sure." Zidane smiled.

He quickly browsed through the add-ons, slightly impressed. They could apparently make it impermeable and even fit for colder weather. He was a bit upset that they didn't have a charm to make it 'blood proof' since blood stains were a bitch to get rid of.

He left the shop, paying a galleon and four sickles for the cloak whose hood was now hiding the upper portion of his face. With a scarf on, he could probably go full incognito. He looked at his money pouch and frowned. He was running low on funds, and now he barely enough to pay the inn.

Before heading back to the pub, Zidane decided to check out the bookshop he saw earlier. 'Flourish and Blotts'. It was a pretty large shop filled with people, with stairs that led to a second floor. The walls themselves were bookshelves lined with books of all colors and sizes. The whole bookshop was littered with random piles of books, making the place look a bit cluttered, yet welcoming at the same time. Behind the oak counter, Zidane was a bit surprised to see a cage. He was even more surprised to see that it was filled with books. Books that were snapping at the bars and growling at anyone that got close enough.

'_The hell?'_

Zidane continued browsing around. He wasn't really looking for anything specific, unless they happened to have a book about teleporting to different worlds. He paused when he read the name of one of the books.

'_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.'_

Zidane took the book and began to leaf through it. It contained a bunch of spells, ranging from odd, to quite useful, to completely useless. Still very interesting though. He was very tempted to buy it, but then remembered he barely had enough for the inn. He'd have to use his 'talents' to get more money soon.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a hand slowly reaching to grab something just inches away from his partially concealed face. He stepped back and blinked in confusion.

'_What the-?'_

The blonde then turned towards the hand's owner and furrowed his eyebrows at the odd sight. It was a girl; a long-dirty-blonde haired girl, with silvery-gray eyes, faint eyebrows, and a dreamy far-off look. She was quite pretty, but not really his type. She was wearing by far the weirdest getup he had seen yet. She was wearing a pink summer dress with flowers on it, but that wasn't the weird part. The weird part was her choice in accessories, in her case, a necklace made of corks, and earrings that appeared to be small radishes.

"I'm sorry. I saw your expression and thought you may have wrackspurts buzzing around your head. They like getting in your ears and making your brain go all fuzzy." The girl said in a dreamy tone that suggested she wasn't really there.

"Uh okay, thanks…I guess." Zidane said, not really knowing how to respond. This was probably the weirdest girl he had ever met and he was sure his charms would be useless.

He put the book back and decided to walk towards the door. Only, the girl seemed to follow him like a shadow.

"Have you been close to mistletoe? You have quite the infestation of Wrackspurts."

"Not as far as I know." Zidane replied. This girl was odd, but unique in her own way. He liked that.

Zidane was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a round-faced blonde teen get shoved out of the way by a man who just entered the shop. The boy gave a sigh and bent over to pick the books he dropped. Zidane quickly went to help, the strange girl following suit as well.

"Are you alright?" The genome asked the shy looking teen as he handed him his books which he just noticed were all on plants.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. Thanks." The boy replied with a sort gratitude that could only come from someone who usually didn't get much help.

He also seemed a bit nervous talking to him, but it was probably because he was a total stranger wearing a black travelling cloak. Zidane paused for a bit. The somewhat shy attitude, nervous stutter, and the way the boy was fiddling with the books reminded him so much of Vivi. Granted this guy was taller than him, but personality-wise they seemed similar. Therefore, even though they just met, he could already feel some fondness for the guy.

"You know, you really shouldn't let people just walk over you like that."

Zidane said in a good natured way. The genome then looked around the shop to find the man who shoved the shy boy. When Zidane identified him, he could already feel a scowl form on his face. He was a pale man, with pale blonde hair, cold grey eyes, and pointed features. He walked around with a cane that had a snake head as pommel, his gait having the distinct characteristics of that of a rich noble. His whole being just shouted 'I'm better than thou'.

He had just finished paying for some book and was now heading back.

'_Excellent'_

Zidane walked towards the man, his pace mixing in perfectly with the others. He pretended to look at a point in the distance and when he was close enough, he tripped the man making him tumble ungracefully to the floor. Needless to say the man was furious as he was disheveled.

"Watch where you're going you filthy scum!"

"Maybe you should too. You had no problems shoving that boy on the way in, and you didn't even apologize." Zidane said with an even tone, he had been called far worse before.

"How dare you talk to me like that! Do you know who I am?"

The teen just looked at the man with a bored expression. "No, and I don't particularly care, either."

"I am Lucius Malfoy, member of one of the most noble, pureblooded families in the wizarding world!" The man spat back as he rose from the ground. Zidane was somewhat reminded of a spitting cobra.

"That's strange. You'd think that someone so rich could afford better manners."

The angered man quickly unsheathed his cane, revealing a hidden 'wand' inside. He saw the man's killer intent clearly in his eyes, so he decided to discreetly get a spell ready. Zidane felt the air around him buzz with magic and readied himself to dodge whatever was going to come his way. The man was just about to open his mouth to cast, when the store clerk bustled through the crowed to see cobra man pointing the stick at him., all while Zidane still stood looking deceptively calm and wand-less.

"You sir, please put your wand away or take it outside!" The clerk called out.

"Pray we don't meet again, filth!" The blonde noble sneered but put his stick back into his walking stick, and then left the shop in a big show, just as the crowed began to disperse.

"That was bloody amazing!" The teen said. "Thank you, nobody has ever done something like that for me."

"Well like I always say, you don't need a reason to help people." Zidane said with an uplifting tone. The teen seemed to think over his words as if tasting them.

"NEVILLE! Where are you, you forgetful boy!"

The teen, 'Neville' apparently, turned at the shrill old voice and blushed.

"Sorry, that's my grandmother. I'd better get going. I hope we'll see each other again though." Neville, said, shifting the books in his arms before leaving the bookshop in a hurry.

Zidane was left with the odd girl who was waving in goodbye.

"What you did for him was very nice." The girl said.

"It was the right thing to do."

"Hmmm, anyways, I should really get going too. Those Gulping Plimpies aren't going to fish themselves. It was very nice meeting you, I hope we see each other at Hogwarts."

And with that, the girl left the shop, skipping merrily like she was in a field of flowers.

'_Gulping Plimpies? Hogwarts? What was that girl talking about?'_

Zidane smiled though, maybe they would meet again. It really had been enjoyable, especially looking at Malfoy's angry face. What he probably liked most was the little souvenir that he got from their encounter.

'_To the victor goes the spoils. Let's see what spoils the victor got this time.' _

Zidane withdrew from his cloak a green velvet bag he snagged from the blonde man as he tumbled down. He felt some magic emit from the bag, and knowing that it was probably charmed in case it was stolen, Zidane cast a quick dispel and was happy to see that the magic on the bag had left. He opened the bag, and smiled as he saw at least forty or more golden coins greet him.

'_Hehehe, sucker.' _

With that, he took the spell book he found earlier, its following volumes, and some other interesting books for good measure. He put up a smile as he approached the counter, and paid using his newly acquired gold.

Once out of sight, he put his books in his small item bag next to his other books, and decided it was now time to head back to the pub. The sky was already darkening and his stomach seemed to remember its forgotten hunger. He walked leisurely towards the wall that separated this world from the non-magical, and once he reached it, he realized he had just a bit of a problem. He didn't have a wand.

He stood around waiting for someone else to come by to open the wall, but it was fruitless. He was already thinking about climbing the damn thing when he noticed an _enormous_ shadow loom over him.

"What'cha wait'n out 'ere for?"

Zidane turned quickly to face the deep heavy-accented voice that addressed him. Behind him he saw what had to be the biggest man he had ever seen. He was five time as wide as a regular man and twice as tall, with a scraggly black beard and hair that covered a great part of his face, except for nose, cheeks, and black eyes that glinted like beetles. And although anyone would feel at least a bit intimidated by a man of such stature, Zidane wasn't. He could see a hidden gentleness, beneath a gruff exterior. And if he had to be perfectly honest, the man reminded him of a larger, but not by much, version of Baku, his foster father.

"I wanted to head back to the Leaky Cauldron, but I don't have a wand with me. So I'm kinda stuck." Perhaps admitting that he didn't have a wand was a bad idea, but something told him that in this case it wouldn't be much of an issue.

"Well 'lemme help yeh out then. I'm Rubeus Hagrid by ther way"

"Marcus Crescent." Zidane said, pulling off his hood, and shaking the man's gigantic hands.

Much to his surprise, the giant man took out a pink umbrella (of all things) and tapped the wall, making it part for them. They both headed back to the pub, and Zidane found that, while it was a bit hard to understand the man, he was very kind and open towards him. He almost felt bad for giving him a false name.

Almost.

After all, he still had his own safety to think about.

He asked Hagrid if he would like having dinner together, which surprised the man, but he happily agreed. He told him this was because most people felt intimidated by him. The only ones that didn't were many of his friends and colleagues at the school he taught, as well as many of the students he had become close to. The teen was surprised to learn that this 'Hogwarts' was a school; the same school Hagrid apaprently taught at. When he asked about it, the giant man was quite surprised that he didn't know about it. He even said he thought Zidane was a student attending this year. As it would seem, it was odd to see foreign wizards his age travelling to Britain for any other reason. Hagrid then started a full blown lecture on Hogwarts and everything that had to do with it. Zidane felt a bit impressed and even thought about visiting the place if he ever got the chance.

The conversation then took a turn when Zidane asked what Hagrid taught at Hogwarts. Apparently the man just _loved_ magical creatures of all sorts. Especially the dangerous ones, based on the endearing way he described his giant spider, his three headed dog, the baby dragon he once had as a pet, and the Blast-ended Skrewts he had bred into being. While Zidane didn't share his love of monsters, he did shared his experience with Choco (mentioning only vaguely what he was), and how close they bonded.

The conversation then continued over some drinks after dinner, reluctantly provided by Tom. Needless to say, the genome was happy to finally get his hands on some alcohol. At first Tom was reluctant, because of his apparent age. Tom even asked Hagrid if he was a student at Hogwarts, to which the giant man simply answered the truth.

"Firs' time I've met im. He ain't a student, that I'm sure of."

Hagrid had also been very hesitant to drink with him for the same reason.

"Aww come on Hagrid, I may look young, but I'm old enough to drink where I come from. I'm an experienced drinker, hell I'll even pay for the drinks."

After much insistence, and persuasion from his part, Hagrid finally gave in. Tom did as well, though it wouldn't matter since he was technically accompanied by an adult. And if both older men had been forced to admit it, young 'Marcus' had grown on them despite the short time they had known him. And he had kept true to his word too. He really was an experienced drinker. That is, until he convinced them to let him try some of the stronger drinks and Tom brought out the firewhisky.

Zidane quickly found he liked it, even though it made his throat feel like it was on fire and not like just any other strong drink, either. No, this one was special.

It was definitely some of the good stuff.

The conversation mingled in with laughter as they told each other hilarious stories of their adventures or everyday life. The night was fun, and accident free, except for one close call when Zidane was nearly smashed into the bar when a red-faced laughing Hagrid patted him heartily on the back after a particularly funny joke. Zidane was sure he was going to wake up next morning with a large palm shaped bruise and a giant hangover. But despite that, it was the best fun he'd had since arriving in this place. He had quickly become friends and drinking buddies with Hagrid, and he really wished he could do it again sometime.

"Well, it's gettin late and I have ter get goin. It's been mighty fine getting te know ya, give me a holler if ye ever come ta Hogwarts."

Zidane gave a small pout and a sigh but accepted.

"Nice meeting you too Hagrid. Let's do it again sometime. Oh, and good luck with that journey of yours. Especially with your lady friend." Zidane finished with a suggestive wag of his eyebrows.

Hagrid burst into booming laughter..

"Will do. Goodnight." And with a wave of his large hand, the man was off.

Zidane finished the last of his drink, before bidding Tom goodnight, and tumbling his way to his room. He didn't even bother to look around the furnished room. He only got as far as stripping down to his boxers before dropping dead on the bed from exhaustion.

…

That same night Hagrid made his way over to the place he agreed to pick up the portkey that would take him to Beauxbatons to meet up with Madam Maxime. Though he was reluctant to drink with the blonde, cyan-eyed boy at first, Hagrid had to admit he had a great time. There was something about that boy though. It was odd to see boys like that travelling alone without a parent or guardian, and Hagrid did not ask because it might have been a sore subject. But still, there was something else about Marcus. When they first met, the boy looked a bit surprised at his appearance, but didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated, which was odd. He would know, since he always saw the awed and sometimes terrified faces of first years that arrived at the castle every year. No, this kid was something entirely different.

Though it would sound rather like an insult to anyone else, the boy reminded him a bit of some of the creatures he had met in the Forbidden Forest. He looked perfectly human, that was true, but his eyes had this intellect and fierceness that he had only seen in creatures like hippogriffs or manticores. Perhaps the boy was a halfling like him? Probably part veela based on his looks.

"Hagrid."

Hagrid turned to see none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt coming up to meet him.

"Great ter see ya Kingsley, but wasn't Lupin meetin with me?"

"I decided to come myself. I have a few questions actually, since you know so much about magical creatures."

"Well sure, whatcha need ter know?"

Shacklebolt sigh and proceeded to tell Hagrid what happened that night.

"Proudfoot is still in St. Mungo's. They can't figure out how to help him regain his vision. They don't even know what kind of hex or dark curse was used. I've just checked in with the databases at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for anything that looks like what Dawlish saw, but there are no matches. He claimed he saw a creature that was rather humanoid in form, but tailed. Whatever it did to Proudfoot, it did it wand-lessly, and effortlessly, meaning that it would rank at least XXXX. I came here tonight because I wanted to know if you had any ideas since our experts seemed to be stumped."

Hagrid thought over the information and was simply fascinated by whatever it might have been that easily took down two aurors. The ranking Kingsley gave them would be correct. XXXX creatures were considered dangerous, and to be handled with knowledge and skill. XXXXX creatures were extremely dangerous and known for killing wizards, besides being impossible to train, though they were usually the most interesting by his standards.

"I 'ave no clue, but my guess is yer creature may be a hybrid. It's strange it knows dark magic though." Hagrid replied.

"I thought it would turn out into something like this. I already informed Dumbledore and the Order, we are mostly worried that it's a new creature bred for serving under You-Know-Who's new army. We are trying to see if we can capture it to find out more."

Hagrid nodded, he was pretty interested in this new occurrence as well. But for now, he had another mission to complete. Taking the portkey, a bent spoon, from Shacklebolt, Hagrid said his farewells and waited. Not long after that he felt the familiar pull behind his navel, followed by the sensation he was being pushed down a tiny tube.

**To be continued...**

...

A/N: Let's play a game of 'who finds the most cameo appearances'! :D Also, i had to do a bit of research for this chapter. I just hope I got it right...

Just so you know, Zidane didn't actually read all those books. he just skimmed over them, maybe read some interesting passage off some page, and then discarded them once his attention span was overwhelmed.

Zidane will also now be going by 'Marcos Crescent' seeing as even HE is cautious enough to know that using his real name isn't the brightest of ideas.

Also, for those of you who haven't played FFIX, Choco is this chobo whose also part of this large sidequest. By the end of the quest Choco becomes a gold chocobo and is able to fly on the world map.

Anyways, till next time!


	4. Chapter 4: When in Rome

**Notes:** Here's chapter 4, it's the longest so far. Head's up because, like I said earlier, there will be swearing in this fic. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed or added me to their lists.

Reviews, of course, are always welcome.

Chapter 4: When in Rome...

...

Zidane woke up the next day at noon with a Hagrid-sized hangover. He winced as the light in the room burned through his eye-lids and forced him to sink his face directly into his lumpy pillow. After a few minutes of uselessly trying to convince himself of going back to sleep, he realized it was a hopeless case.

He winced as got up; the daylight blinding him as slowly stretched his limbs. Feeling that something wasn't quite right, he looked down and noticed that his tail was hanging pathetically and without any feeling. Realizing he must have slept on it last night, the teen further regretted his decision to get up. He was waiting for the blood to circulated back to his tail, when he heard a knock at the door. He blinked at the door, wishing for whoever it was to go away, but after a few seconds there was another knock.

'_Dammit.'_ "I'm coming!" Zidane croaked out.

He put on his pants from yesterday and sweatshirt on too. He didn't care much, he knew he probably looked like shit anyways. He barely remembered to hide his tail before grabbing the doorknob and opening the door.

"Good morning, I had a feeling you'd want your breakfast up today. I'm surprised you can actually stand up after yesterday."

The blonde greeted Tom before allowing the man to enter the room with his food. He was also kind enough to bring some tea to nurse his hangover. After innkeeper left, Zidane made some effort to eat something and then left small cart in the hallway as instructed. Once he felt better, he got up and decided to get dressed for the new day. It was then that he remembered the books he bought yesterday.

It was while leafing through a bit from 'The Standard Book of Spells Grade 2' that Zidane was struck with sudden inspiration. The book taught of ways to power up spells, and in some cases make them last longer. And while he didn't have a wand, he thought it would apply just the same to any of his spells. And so he turned to his books from Gaia and decided that it might actually work.

If he could power up a vanishing spell to make it last longer, while focusing his spell on a single part of his body, he could just make his tail invisible rather than having to hide it under his clothes or around his waist. It would certainly be a relief, since hiding it was as uncomfortable as it was annoying.

After crossing his fingers and hoping that the entire place wouldn't blow up, the teen gave a sigh of relief when he realized that it worked. Well, the first time he made his left arm vanish, but the second time he got it right. He stretched his tail out and waved it around, curling it experimentally. He would have to be careful and gauge how long the spell would work for, and more than that, he would have to be careful with people accidentally stepping on it, or brushing past it. Though invisible, it was still very much tangible.

After getting all his things, the blonde left his room, ate lunch, and checked out of the Leaky Cauldron after saying goodbye to Tom. He did this because, as Hagrid said, it was strange for someone like him to travel alone and stay for too long in one place. That, and there was a chance that rich guy he stole from yesterday would come looking for him. He didn't strike people as a native, and if that same guy was looking for him, then it would be obvious for a foreigner to be staying here, the only magical lodging he had seen around. Besides, he _did_ steal quite a bit from him, even though the arrogant bastard deserved it.

Zidane spent the rest of the day learning (and making occasional thefts, but mostly learning) about the strange hidden society that was Magical Britain. He learned more about the current events, which made him realize just how big of mess he was in, and more about what these people knew as common knowledge. If he was going to be staying here and blend in, then he really needed to know these things.

Muggles were non-magical people. Male magical people were called wizards while females were called witches. Magical people born from Muggles were called 'muggle-borns'. Non magical people born from magical families were called 'Squibs'. Being called a Squib was also apparently an insult. There was also a sort of obsession with blood. People from old wealthy wizard families who didn't marry Muggles were considered to have 'purer blood' and called themselves 'pure-blood'. Basically they were the rich pompous nobles of this place. Those that were not pure-blood were called 'mud-bloods' or 'dirty bloods', which was just as insulting as it sounded. Those that came from 'pure-blooded' families but married Muggles or mud-bloods were called 'blood traitors'. It really all sounded like bullshit to Zidane, but hey, it was part of their culture.

Another thing Zidane realized was just the amount of power the government had over these people, even when it came to the press. It was so obviously controlled by the ministry it was _sad_. If the ministry was going to try using media censorship, they could at least try to be a little more discreet. He really felt bad for this Potter kid though. The way the newspaper attacked a_ boy,_ a boy that was still in school and apparently saved them all as a baby no less, it was like a massive stab in the back. Even if the kid happened to be lying, which he highly doubted, the minister's main concern should still be the safety of his people. That was what a true ruler was supposed to work hard for, like Dagger did, and like he would one day too.

Running a hand through his bangs, Zidane wondered just what kind of mess he was getting himself into.

…

Ron Weasley was a lanky, tall, redheaded boy like all in his family, with blue eyes, and light-colored, but freckled skin. Like many, he was born at the height of the last wizarding war, but unlike many, he was the sixth son amongst seven children. His parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley were kind, hard working people, albeit a bit poor when it came to material wealth.

He didn't really mind though, sure he usually got hand-me-downs, and last year's dress robes were ghastly( a little bit of coin wouldn't hurt either), but he could honestly say he say he felt privileged. He had two great friends, loving family, and quite some free time in the Burrow until the school year started.

That's why he was a bit surprised when he and the rest of his siblings were called down to a 'family meeting'.

Arthur Weasly sat on the large, somewhat abused couch in the living room with a hand around his wife, Molly's shoulders, who sat next to him. He was a balding redhead who worked at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and had something of an unorthodox fascination with all things Muggle. Molly Weasley was a plump woman, who had more than enough motherly love for all the family and friends. She had made it her personal mission to adopt his best mate, Harry right into the family of redheads. Surely if the world had at least a dozen more of her, there would be no unwanted children in the world.

Everyone else was there, well asides from some of his older brothers. Bill was at work in his desk job at Gringotts, Charlie was still in Romania working with dragons, while Percy, Percy had abandoned the family after getting promoted, which was quite an emotional blow to his parents. Mentioning the bloke in front of them had become a bit of an unspoken taboo in the house.

Otherwise, they were all there. Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley, his youngest sibling and only sister, was there sitting on another couch. As the youngest and only girl amongst six older brothers, Ginny had grown up to be quite tough for someone her age. His older identical twin brothers, Fred and George, were standing next to each other after startling him when they apparated. Now that they were of age and could do magic outside of school, they were simply _unleashed_, apparating and disapparating randomly to get anywhere, and charming things left and right for pranks or just because they _could_. But right now, George was looking a bit pale, which led him to believe that they were, once again, working on their new Skiving Snackboxes. Judging by the way George was swaying occasionally, it was probably the 'Fainting Fancies'.

"Well kids, I know you're probably wondering why your mother and I called you all here." Mr. Weasley said.

"Your'e bloody joking!"

"Don't tell us we're having another baby brother?!"

"Yeah, we had enough with ickle Ronnie to begin with." The twins ranted.

"BOYS!" Mr. Weasley interrupted, his ears slightly red. "We are not having another baby!"

"What your father is trying to say is that, for safety purposes, we will be spending the rest of the summer away from the Burrow." Mrs Weasley added.

"That's mad! Where else would we stay?" Ron asked.

His parents then explained to them about their involvement in the Order of the Phoenix and how they would be staying at the old Black family mansion, which was currently the Order's headquarters. By the end of the explanation, Ron felt a bit dazzled as he went upstairs to pack his things. When he saw his tiny Scops owl Pigwidgeon, 'Pig' for short, on the window sill, he thought about mailing his friends of the recent events. But then, he remembered. He had promised Dumbledore that he wouldn't tell any of these things to Harry.

Well he was going to be bloody pissed off.

…..

The sun had now disappeared beyond the horizon leaving the streets dark and the stores closed. The only thing illuminating the streets were the magically lit lampposts and the single white moon in the sky. It really made Zidane miss the different colored lights of the twin moons, after all, he had practically grown up with them.

Zidane smiled as he looked at the newspaper paper he clutched in his hands. On the front page of the morning paper, beneath an article titled 'DUMBLEDORE DAFT OR DANGEROUS?', was another article titled 'MASSIVE THIEVINGS IN DIAGON ALLEY'. Zidane read the article with a great amount of amusement.

_Members of the wizarding community have found themselves shouting in outrage at the increase of reported thefts. According to data gathered from last Thursday, the amounts of thefts have simply skyrocketed in the last several days, this of course, taking into account the large influx of tourists this time of the year. But these thefts have not been limited to civilians only, for shop owners have also reported cases of missing stock and vandalism to their respective shops._

'_It is my professional belief that these thefts have been performed by a single individual, or at the very least, a very organized group, based on how the criminal abruptly began raiding the small shops. Diagon Alley has always been subjected to the occasional pickpocket, but never has criminal activity reached such heights. We are not talking about just simple swipe of a purse, many if not most of the shops in Diagon Alley are subjected to powerful and complex security charms that were easily disabled by the thief without anybody's notice. This would lead many to belief that said criminal is a powerful and experienced witch or wizard.' Said the retired Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour._

_Shop owners and civilians alike have called for the ministry to intervene. Fudge recently just announced his decision to post Aurors to guard the street after repeated protests on his original plan to station Dementors like he did two years ago in response to mass-murder Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Coincidentally, many citizens have pinned the thefts on the notorious mass murderer, who according to authorities, was seen in Tibet._

'_This 'phantom thief' as many have begun to call him is nothing more than a petty criminal.' Said Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. When asked to give a message to the thief, he answered: 'You can try to hide, but rest assured we will find you, and when we do, we'll have a nice cell in Azkaban ready.'_

_Until then, the Auror Department would like to ask all citizens to share any additional information they may have concerning the thief._

Zidane actually began to laugh. The article didn't mention that he had only stolen from a couple of shops where the owners had been particularly nasty. All of the thefts were actually directed at the pompous purebloods, they were all painfully easy to recognize. In any case, his real goal was to piss off that Fudge guy (though he did amass a small fortune in the process). With the threat of a criminal on the loose, he would be forced to get his head out of his ass and answer to the people's call. And now with the Aurors arriving tomorrow, he knew the people would get at least some protection.

But the whole thing was just hilarious. They thought they could catch him? They though he was some kind of big and powerful wizard? He didn't expect making it to the front page so quickly. They must have really been desperate for news if they decided to cover this. It was likely that Fudge was trying to drive everyone one away from any news regarding that Dark Wizard. They even called him a 'Phantom Thief'! It was just too good. He should actually thank that Rufus guy, now that the people had that bizarre image of him, they would never expect someone like him to be the real culprit. It would make things so much easier for him.

He'd probably have to watch out for these Aurors from now on though, but well, what could you do? Any other thief would probably attempt to lay low during times like this, but Zidane wasn't just any thief. Besides, it wasn't about the loot. This was about sending a message.

The genome leapt through the roofs of the houses, this would be his last night without having to worry about Aurors, and he sure as hell was going to enjoy this simple pleasure. So far he had been sleeping in abandoned buildings, which wasn't really all that bad. He had to change his hiding spot though, since he was nearly spotted the night before.

Seeing as it was getting late, Zidane decided it was time to find a place to sleep. He decided to risk it with this shop he had encountered several times but he never entered since the place looked empty. He guessed by its dilapidated state that it must have been abandoned.

'_There it is! 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C.'. Doesn't look like he's cleaned since then too.'_

Zidane walked around the shop to reach the back door. He cast a quick dispel to take out any protective spells on the door. Then he proceeded to pick the lock the old fashioned way. Inside it looked just as abandoned as the outside. He walked past what looked like a small workshop that had pieces of wood and strange long objects in jars and then to some stairs that led to the upper floor. He continued until he reached the actual shop. There was an oak counter and the whole room was dusty. The walls themselves were shelves filled to the brim of long rectangular boxes. The boxes themselves didn't seem to follow any specific arrangement, and looked quite cluttered. He assumed that those were wands, but thought it was weird that an abandoned shop would still contain its merchandise.

'_Unless…oh crap.' _

The blonde was just about to leave the shop and head back from whence he came, having realized his mistake, when he heard the sound of footsteps on cobblestone, and then heard the sound of glass shattering. He thought it was the owner at first, but then realized that someone was trying to get INSIDE the shop. Zidane quickly ducked behind the counter, hood on, and blending perfectly with the shadows around him. He heard the sound of footsteps on broken glass and decided to take out his daggers just in case. Just as he did that, a faint light came from the door he used to enter the shop. Footsteps accompanied the light into the shop and Zidane saw an old man in his nightclothes enter with a wand in one hand and a lantern in the other.

The man had messy silvery hair, and wore large glasses that magnified his moon-like pale eyes. The man's eyes seemed to land on him for a moment, before turning to the person who had just broken into the shop.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I come with orders from my master. As for what he wants, you should probably have an idea by now." Replied the man whose voice sounded irritatingly familiar.

"I'm afraid I won't be coming to meet your master, Death Eater." The old man said.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. _Incarcerous!_"

Zidane's eyes widened as he saw ropes shoot out and tie around the old man before he could even defend himself. The blonde felt anger course through him as he saw the old man cry out in pain and fall to the ground like an animal being captured by a net. In the blink of an eye, the teen dashed over and cut the ropes with his dagger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Zidane shouted at the other man who he could now see was wearing a skull mask and a black robe with a pointed hood. The man looked surprised at first, but then composed himself.

"That would be none of your business! _Stupefy_!"

Zidane dodged the jet of red light and then tried to close in to deliver a blow to the masked man. The masked man called out another spell, and this time, he could only block it with his dagger. It was then that the genome had an idea. He backed away and continued to dodge and block each spell the man called, as he readied his own spell.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" Zidane said as he unleashed his own spell which the man had not seen coming because of his lack of a wand.

The man stumbled dumbly but then got back on his feet and raised his wand to strike. He opened his mouth to call his next spell, but nothing happened. Zidane, feeling proud that his ´silence´ spell worked, closed in and punched the masked man in the face. Said man fell out into the street outside clutching at his faceas fragments of his skull-like mask fell on the ground.

When the man removed his hand, the teen saw the bruised and slightly cut face of the blonde man from the bookshop. Zidane was about to finish the guy off, when there was a loud 'crack' and the man was gone. Instead of following after, the blonde gave an angry sigh as his tail stopped thrashing angrily and went back inside the shop to see how the old man was. He wouldn't be able to follow after, and besides, the old man's life was more important.

Zidane soon learned that this man was Ollivander, the owner of the shop, which apparently was still running and not abandoned like he originally thought. He was very grateful and gave him a general explanation of what that man was and what he wanted from him. Zidane sheepishly explained to him what he was doing inside the shop, and was thankful to see that Ollivander was not upset, since his action had possibly saved his life tonight. Maybe he was a bit insulted since the teen had originally thought his shop was abandoned. Still, it was strange how those silver eyes seemed to be able to see through him. It made him feel like even if he told a lie, the man would know instantly.

The old man also expressed his interest in his 'wandless magic', saying he had seen few old powerful wizards that could do that. But the biggest surprise came when Ollivander offered to fit him with a wand as a way to repay him. He said that any self-respecting wizard should have one, and that he was honestly curious as to what wand would accept him. Zidane had the feeling that, more than a way to repay him, it was mostly to quell the man's curiosity.

"Of course, it would be best to do it tomorrow." Ollivander said with a yawn.

"What about the glass?"

"Oh yes, dear me I almost forgot." Ollivander said, and with a quick '_reparo' _the glass was as good as new. The old man then took his lantern and made his way out of the shop and up the stairs. "Well aren't you coming? You don't honestly want to sleep on the floor do you?"

Zidane just shrugged and followed the man.

'_Geez if he can repair a window so easily why can't he just as easily clean the place?'_

With a silent laugh the teen just passed it off as one of those wizard '_things'_.

….

The following morning, Hermione Granger woke up in her quite normal Muggle house to the sound of something pecking at her window. Blearily she got up, minding her ginger cat, Crookshanks, only to see a tiny owl with a quite larger letter tied to its foot on the other side of the glass. Hermione opened the window and the tiny owl she recognized as Pig flew in and extended its tiny foot with the letter towards her.

Hermione Granger was a single child, and daughter of a pair of accomplished dentists. Though she was born from non-magical parents, for some strange twist of destiny (though Hermione would scoff at the thought of a predetermined fate) she was born magical. Since the age of eleven when she first gained the knowledge of being a witch, she had attended Hogwarts, made friends, took part in sometimes dangerous adventures, and also ranked top of her class. Her parents had taken it all surprisingly well too. They were proud of their little girl no matter what.

'_What could Ron want? Out of the three, he is the one that writes the least.'_

Hermione took the letter from the owl's leg and quickly read over the chicken scratch that was Ron's writing.

'_Really, he should at least try to improve his handwriting.'_

When she finished reading the letter, the two other occupants of the room, Pig and Crookshanks, could feel the excitement bubbling from the girl. Said girl quickly left out the door and went to find her parents.

"Mom, Dad, Ron's family just invited me to spend the summer with them. Can I go?"

After seeing the imploring face on their daughter's face, how could they say no? The Weasleys were a kind bunch, a bit weird, but good nonetheless. Hermione ran back to her room to write back an answer. She did not really lie to her parents, but she didn't say the truth either. They weren't spending the holidays at the Burrow. Instead, they were going to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. But if she told her parents about that, she would have to explain You-Know-Who's return and then they might not let her go back to Hogwarts.

'_Oh, but wait until Harry hears!'_ Hermione thought, but then remembered and winced. _'Harry will be absolutely livid when he finds out.'_

…

Back in Diagon Alley, Zidane was starting to question Ollivander's sanity. After breakfast and a long shower, they temporarily closed shop in order to have some privacy while Zidane was getting fitted for a wand. It was understandable when he asked for his wand arm and then proceeded to measure his right arm, but when floating tape-measure started measuring the length of his eyebrows and other random things like the space between his eyes, Zidane was tempted to ask the man if he should pull his pants down, so he could measure 'that' too. Because you know, with magic you never really knew.

Then came the second step in which he would try seemingly random wands handed to him by Ollivander, while the man would call off their length, wood, and whatever was inside it. When he took the wand and swished it, one of two things happened: part of Ollivander's shop would be violently destroyed, or the wand itself would get destroyed. In one case, he only touched the wand and it burned him, in another the wand flew out of his hand and lodged itself deep in the wall.

"Eleven inches, ash, with a dragon heartstring core."

Zidane grabbed the wand, but it violently burst into flame.

"Ten and a half inches, wholly, with a unicorn hair core.'

Zidane grabbed that one and when it didn't explode, he gave it a swish. Large slash marks appeared on the floor along with a horrible inhuman shriek, which made the genome quickly drop the stick.

He had to admit, what unsettled him the most about his current situation was that Ollivander didn't seem pissed that he was destroying his shop, or even the fact that he nearly killed him in one try. No, with each passing wand the guy seemed to get more excited. Right now he looked positively giddy, and it was really starting to freak him out. Maybe the guy was _a little_ too into his job.

'_What the hell.'_

"Eight and three-quarter inches, vine wood, with a Phoenix Feather core."

Zidane took the wand and felt warmth emanate from around him as a light began to shine down on him. Ollivander looked at the scene with a satisfaction. It finally appeared the wand made a match, that is, until balls of fire began raining down on the blonde.

"Nope, that's positively not it." Ollivander said, and a slightly scorched Zidane just rolled his eyes.

'_No shit genius.'_

"Well I'm afraid I don't know what else to do. None of the wands will accept you. The last wand was the closest we came to success, but it clearly won't accept you as its master. If I must say so myself Mr. Crescent, I've never seen anyone get such reactions from a wand. It's simply astounding!"

"What do you mean accept me?" The teen asked, still a bit freaked out since the old man was looking at him like he was made of orichalmcum or something.

"That's because it's the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way around. Most wizards can use another wand than their own, but it just doesn't work the same as the one that chose them. The results are often time disastrous like you just saw." Ollivander finished by waving his hands at the utter chaos that now was the shop.

"So wands are actually alive?" Zidane asked in wonder.

"Not really alive, they are quasi-sentient. It's very hard to explain really. Usually the wand's wood and core are related to a wizard's qualities. With that last wand for example; I thought the phoenix feather would fit you the most, dragon heartstring is far too temperamental, while unicorn is much too passive. Vine Wood represents an inner journey, and it seemed right too, for its flexibility. But it was as if the ingredients themselves rejected you, even though the combination was right. So strange, this is the first time I've seen this happen."

"Any idea why?" Zidane asked, maybe it was because he wasn't technically human.

"Well, I can only assume. I've heard of something similar happening decades ago with an Asian wizard with a British-made wand. They think that it has to do with the foreignness of the ingredients. Different ingredients are used around the world to fit the wizards native to that place. Unicorns are not found in South America for example, and that's why most people there don't react well with the core, they are simply fitted better for other cores from creatures that live there. I believe that could be the reason, but it's odd that you were totally rejected."

"Wait, so you are telling me that if we used materials from where I am from, then the wand might accept me?" Zidane asked, trying to ignore the 'reject' comment.

"Yes that might work. You aren't suggesting you have the materials here right?" Ollivander asked in amazement and a bit of excitement.

"Yep, I believe I do. Would you be willing to make me a wand?" The teen asked. Apparently, he said the magic words. Ollivander was simply ecstatic and motioned him towards the small workshop in the back.

He wasn't even sure if he actually needed a wand or not. He could do magic perfectly fine without one. Still, if he was going to spend any more time in this world, having a wand would clearly help him blend in better with these people. Wands were what separated a wizard from any other individual or even creature, and honestly from what he'd heard so far, he sure as hell didn't want to be identified as a none-wizard.

"I have to be quite honest to you. I haven't had a real challenge in years, around four years actually. In fact, work had become quite boring. Kids these days are so easy to sort out. I was actually thinking of retiring, but this challenge has rekindled the flame inside me. This will be my best work yet!"

Once he set the pouch down, he began to look for a particular object.

'_Where is it…aha!' _

Much to Ollivander's surprise, he took out a large chunk of wood that was splintered at both ends. The chunk was actually quite large, probably big enough to make a decent sized jewelry box. The wood was a deep greenish brown in the inside, while the exposed parts had turned a pale greenish gray color. Part of the chunk, however, appeared stained with old dried blood.

It's was wood from the Iifa Tree.

"What kind of wood is this? I've never seen anything like it. Wait… is this what I think it is?" Ollivander asked as he began to carefully examine the stained wood.

"Yeah, it's part of a tree that attacked me once. It was called the Iifa Tree. As you can see, that piece still has a bit of my blood on it." _'More like 'nearly killed me', fucking demon tree. If this doesn't accept me then nothing will.' _

Zidane remembered how the tree practically impaled him with one of its root. When Mikoto found him, she had to destroy part of the root that was pinning him down to get him out, and then once he was in the village, she dislodged the piece from his abdomen. That was quite possibly the worst injury he had ever gotten. He had been bedridden for nearly a month afterwards. Mikoto then gave him the piece of wood as a souvenir because of her probable dark sense of humor, or more likely a reminder for him to avoid doing more stupid things again.

'_Good thing that worked.'_

"Amazing, and to think there are more trees like the Whomping Willow out there. But the wood has tasted your blood, it might bond with you better." Ollivander said wonder.

'_Wait, Whomping Willow? Oh hell no, you mean there's more here!?' _

"And what do you plan to use as core?" Ollivander asked, just as Zidane was entering a panicked state.

'_Oh right.'_

Zidane once again searched into his bag, and this time pulled out a single beautiful iridescent golden feather. It was a Phoenix Pinion. He handed the feather to Ollivander, who took it gently with his two hands as if it was something holy and worthy of respect.

"This is a Phoenix feather, but none like I've ever seen." Ollivander said twirling the feather in the light and watching as the reflected light wreathed the feather like flames.

Zidane nodded. "Specifically it's a Phoenix pinion, much rarer than the phoenix downs that are sold in shops where I'm from."

"Amazing, I have only ever used Phoenix tail feathers, but this single feather puts most of them to shame. Pray tell Mr. Crescent, where exactly are you from? I can't say I have ever seen ingredients like this."

The teen stiffened, but decided to at least give a truthful answer, the man was making him a wand, and the way his moon-like eyes were inspecting him was really unsettling. "Well, all I can say is that I'm a long way from home. But if you like the pinions, I have a couple more I can give you."

Ollivander looked at him for a moment, but then sighed and smiled. "I'm sorry to hear you can't tell me, but I would like to buy some feathers from you."

Zidane chuckled, but then convinced the man to take about twenty of them for free. It didn´t matter since he already had a ridiculous amount of them from his journey anyways. He insisted that it was for the wands he ruined and the damages to the shop. Afterwards, the old man got to work. The noted that he was really into his project as he didn't even reopen the shop or clean up the mess he made with the wands. He hardly even saw the man, who had locked himself in his workshop and didn't even seem to leave for food. Zidane only saw him when he came by to give him some cinnamon rolls and coffee he bought, since he was worried that the old man would work himself to death.

The cyan eyed teen did go out into the streets during this time. He took advantage of the moment to catch a glance at the Aurors stationed there. The only real problem he saw was that these men stood out too much. He thought it was far more efficient to have them undercover. He wondered briefly if they would have night duties as well. He had the distinct feeling he hadn't seen the last of those so called Death Eaters.

During this time, he also got his first taste of wizard sweets. Most of them were quite unappealing. Cauldron Cakes were okay, and so were Liquorice Wands. Chocolate Frogs reminded him of Quina. He knew it was a charm, but every time he saw the frogs leap away for their lives, it brought gruesome images of the Qu eating the frogs. Other sweets just sounded disgusting, Blood Pops for example. He also feared he would never get over that Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean that tasted of sewage. Why would anyone even invent such a thing?!

In two days, Ollivander had the wand finished. He proudly claimed that most wandmakers took a week at least.

"Let's see Gregorovitch beat this!" Ollivander said with a smile.

The old man brought the new wand and even Zidane had to admit it. It was simply beautiful. The wand itself was the same pale greenish-gray color, but far lighter and with a bluish hint too. The handle itself was a carved vine that circled the wand, the groves in between made to fit his fingers perfectly and for better grip. The vine had the same original pale greenish-gray color that the wood had, but with bluish hints as well, and it branched off after the handle ended, forming root-like designs that grew smaller and finally ended about midway through the wand. Zidane was also surprised to see a round moonstone resting at the wand's pommel.

"Nine and a half inches, made with the blood bound wood of the Iifa Tree, and a Pheonix Pinion at its core. Quite flexible, though I can't say what to expect from it." Ollivander said with a smile.

This was it; the moment of truth.

The blonde slowly gripped the wand, feeling smoothness of the wood, and resting his fingers on its grooves. The minute his fingers touched the wood, he felt a connection from somewhere deep inside him. Jolts of electricity ran up his arm in a pleasant way and soon surrounded his entire body in a way that was exactly like he felt during trance. The whole shop seemed to darken, as he practically began to glow at the same time, and when he looked up he saw the ghostly glowing figures of two moons, one blue and the other red, and all the same, a haunting melody echoed through his ears. The two moons and the glow surrounding him then vanished into dozens of white feathers that disappeared once they touched the ground.

The shop fell into a complete silence that was then broken by the round of claps that came from Ollivander.

"Well done! Now this is probably one of the most unconventional wands I've made. As you noticed before, this wand has a moonstone, normally stones aren't put in wands, but I decided to go out of the normal and put it there for luck. This is a real masterpiece, so promise me you'll take care of it Mr. Crescent."

"Don't worry I will. But firstly, I'd prefer it if you called me Zidane." The teen said with a smile. Ollivander seemed to look at him for a moment before smiling once more.

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you 'Zidane'?"

The blonde just laughed. _'You have no idea.'_

…

Back in Little Whinging, Harry had just thrown away two boxes of Honeydukes chocolates. The reason for that? He was angry, and angry people were not known to make rational decisions. Today, July 31st was his birthday, and just like every year, he was forced to spend it in this miserable place. Only this time he was at least hoping to get some news from his friends. Something, no, _anything_ would have helped. He had spent the last weeks sneaking from outside the window to listen to the news and he had even been scavenging newspapers from trashcans! But there was nothing, zero, zit, nada.

All he had gotten so far were messages like this:

_We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously…We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray…We're quite busy, but we can't give you the details here… There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you. _

How was that supposed to help? They didn't even say when! Could these letters get any more ambiguous? Did everyone forget about him already? Why were they keeping him in the dark?

'_I have the right to know!' _Harry seethed, anger boiling in his veins.

Later that night, he would regret throwing away those chocolates after Aunt Petunia gave him a wilted salad for dinner.

…..

That same night, Zidane found himself on his way back to the shop. He had bought a few more books with things he could try out with his new wand since spells here seemed to depend a lot on wand movement. He also bought a holster for it that he put on his belt right next to the one for his daggers. He was nearing the shop when he noticed something strange. The lights in the lampposts were out, making the vacated street look dark and menacing. When he saw that the door to the shop was slightly ajar, he suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He practically dashed to the door, daggers drawn, but the moment he got there he froze. There were five men in masks with their wands drawn and three _things_ in the room as well, though further away from those men. They were humanoid in form but they floated over the floor, with tattered black cloaks covering their otherwise bony forms. What little he could see under was all gray rotten flesh. Suddenly he felt the temperature of the room plummet, taking away all the heat and happiness as well. His eyes travelled towards the figure that was tied and surrounded by the creatures. It was Ollivander. He was shivering violently and as pale as a sheet, small cuts marring his face, and blood oozing from where the ropes were so tight they were cutting into his skin.

"OLLIVANDER!" Zidane cried out.

The old man lifted his face slightly, but his silvery eyes were dull and unfocused, and his breathing came in irregular gasps.

"Ah what do we have here. Does blondie want to play the hero?" One of them laughed, the others seemed to follow.

"YOU BASTARDS, LET HIM GO!" Zidane growled in an almost feral way. From here he could see that Ollivander finally passed out.

He made a dash at the men, but the Death Eaters already had their wands out and ready. The five men shot at him, Zidane dodged three hits and blocked the fourth, but he wasn't expecting the surprised hit from the last of the Death Eater whose red spell hit him square in the chest and made him fall to his knees.

"You must be slipping Nott, it did not knock him out." One of the men said and the others, minus Nott, laughed too.

"But he is quite the slippery one isn't he? _Incarcerou_s!"

Zidane winced as ropes shot out of the man's wand and wrapped around his arms, neck, and torso, effectively binding him in place. Without use of his arms, Zidane was unable to use his daggers. Instead, he gritted his teeth in concentration and tried to cast magic, but he simply couldn't. Zidane only realized then that it was because of the hooded things that he was losing his concentration. They were floated closer to him, and he felt cold sweat run down the side of his face, and saw his breath become visible in front of him. The hairs on his neck and tail bristled as the creatures continued to approach, and he began to remember the worst moment of his life all the while the men's cruel laughter taunted him.

"I say we let him get the kiss." One of the men proposed and the others began to laugh and cheer in a way that made him feel sick.

He didn't know what they meant by kiss, all he knew was that he would not like it.

One of the hooded creatures came closer than the rest and by then, Zidane knew nothing but despair. He barely registered as the creature pulled at its hood revealing nothing but decaying flesh and a hole where the mouth should be. The other two creatures held him in place, their clammy gray hands grabbing the sides of his face, making him want to throw up.

He felt like he did in Pandemonium, the first time he met Garland and he passed out, later waking up on that throne. In his mind he kept hearing the sounds of people screaming as cities were obliterated and the anguished cries of his friends. And at the very center of it, he heard Garland.

'_You have the power, the position, and the motive to do it. Become my angel of death!'_

"Shut up!"

'_Foolishness... The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new soul...'_

"SHUT UP!"

The moment those words left his raw throat, Zidane felt something inside him just snap. There were cries of surprised as a white glow enveloped him, knocking away the creatures who gave a rattling hiss. The death eaters tried shoot spells at the white light, but it did nothing. And when the light died down, there were curses and gasps coming from the five men. Fierce jolts of electricity surrounded the now glowing boy. His blonde hair had gotten slightly longer, and stood up in places like the fur of an agitated animal, but its biggest change was that instead of blonde, it was now a bright pink. His clothes had disappeared and were replaced with patches of bristled fur, with the same color of his hair. A long pink bristled tail now thrashed angrily behind the genome, visible for the entire world to see. His previously wild cyan eyes were now the color of bleeding pink.

Zidane had entered trance.

"Oi, he's just a pink monkey, let's get him!" One of the men said and others followed.

The teen felt the anger radiate in him like waves. Behind him he could see the hoodied creatures trying to get closer to him while Ollivander lay on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

"_Stupefy_!" One of the men called and Zidane blurred as he dodged the spell.

The former blonde got in front of Ollivander in a protective stance and then gathered the energy around him, unleashing it in a devastating 'Free Energy' attack. The windows of the shop were shattered and the men and creatures were blown away outside into the streets. Zidane followed closely, his superb speed giving him the appearance of thunder. He drove his dagger deep into the man who called him a monkey, and when he once again felt the biting cold, he swung his blade and decapitated one of the creatures that had floated towards him. For some reason the creature's cold was as bad as before. He winced as he felt a spell hit him in the back, but rather than hurting him like the caster intended, it just made him angrier.

He then used Stellar Circle 5, calling forth a large swirling vortex of energy that drew in and obliterated another one of the creatures while he just used his dagger to cleave the last creature in half. Turning to the remaining four hooded men, Zidane could practically smell their fear. One of them, either the bravest or most stupid, cast a spell that sent a green jet of light towards him, but the tranced genome easily dodged it. The other's followed like sheep, but he deflected them with his daggers. When he felt the magic in the air stir, and heard a 'crack' in the air, where the four, now three men stood, he decided it was time to end it.

Zidane jumped back and gathered large amounts of energy. It radiated around him making his body look like a miniature sun in this darkness, and as fast as it came, he released it, a wave of fire that hit his targets in a large explosion that charred wood, blackened stone, and shattered the windows of the surrounding buildings, also taking part of the street with him. In epicenter of it all were the blackened and unrecognizable remains of the hooded men, while the remains of the dead-like creatures where completely incinerated, leaving behind only ashes.

Such was the power of 'Tidal Flame'.

The teen slumped to the ground as he felt the power of trance leave him and his features return to normal. Suddenly he began to feel the physical drain of his attacks as well as the attacks that managed to hit him. He managed to drag his shivering body back to the shop, his daggers hanging in his almost limp grip, while blood dripped slightly from where the rough rope dug into his skin. They were superficial wounds, not that dangerous and it didn't matter to him much. He needed to see if Ollivander was okay. He took out of his travelling pouch a Hi-potion and drank it, feeling part of his energy return and his pain numb.

He quickened his pace and brought out another potion for the old man. Once at his side, he lifted his head, uncorked the potion so as to feed it to the unconscious man, making sure it went through his esophagus and not his wind pipe. He dearly hoped it would undo whatever the hooded men and creatures did.

Zidane finished giving him the potion, but then tensed as he felt the magic in the air shift. There were numerous 'cracks' around him, and suddenly he saw four people around him with their wands drawn and pointing at him. He could see one of them was dark skinned and tall, one of them looked quite scruffy and tired, then there was a girl with purple hair and heavily scarred man, with an odd swirling blue eye that looked like he had a fight with a behemoth and lost.

"Stand back and put your wand were we can see it!" Said a surprisingly familiar deep voice.

"If you want Ollivander, you can just forget it." Zidane snapped back in almost a growl.

"Kingsley, he is just a boy. I don't think he is with them." One of the men said with a tired but kind tone. Zidane looked him over. There was something strange about him. His body was practically shooting warnings like it did when he fought monsters.

"I wouldn't be so sure Remus, this kid isn't even human." A gruff voiced disfigured man said.

Zidane stiffened, he was sure his tail was invisible at the moment, and even then he still had his cloak on. How could this man know?

"Nice tail." The gruff man continued and the teen just noticed then how piece of his nose was missing, and he seemed to have a fake leg.

"Nice eye." Zidane retorted, noticing how said electric blue eye twirled around in its socket. _'His eye must be magical.'_

'Remus' and the purple haired woman were taken aback, while the dark-skinned man, 'Kingsley', seemed to hide his shock better, but gave him a onceover and then seemed to notice his two daggers, the empty vial in his hand, and Ollivander whose opened mouth had drips of something running down his lips.

"What's in the vial you gave him? Answer now!" 'Kingsley' boomed at him.

"Not unless you tell me what you want with him first!" Zidane growled back.

He recognized 'Kingsley' from the first night he got here. He knew they would probably attack him when they got the information they wanted. Even though he claimed to be an 'Auror' that night, he was suspicious. None of the Aurors showed up to help when the hoodied men and creatures showed up. How was he supposed to trust that these guys weren't allied to them?

"STEP AWAY!" The gruff man shouted having obviously lost his patience.

"NEVER!" Zidane shouted back. He was too weak to fight, but he wasn't going to abandon the old man.

"_Stupef_y_!_" The man called and a red jet of light shot out of his wand. Zidane dodged the hit, but only just barely.

"_Immobulus!_" 'Kinsley called, but the genome managed to deflect it with his dagger and send it back to the caster who jumped to the side to dodge.

"_Expelliarmus!_" 'Remus' called and Zidane tried to block, but instead it send his daggers flying out of his grasp.

He saw the gruff man send another spell so he was unable to get his daggers and was forced to dodge. He crouched low to the ground and then pounced at the same man, using his body weight to slam unto the man and knock him back, while using the man's body to cushion the fall. For extra measure, he punched the man on his heavily scarred face, like he would in a street brawl, but then he was sent flying back when the woman hit him with a spell. He ended up hitting the back of his head painfully against the wall, and slowly he saw his vision start to darken. He saw the four people start closing in on him, including the man he punched who seemed to need some help getting up.

'_Dammit! I can't let them beat me. I can't let it end like this.'_

Zidane swore as he felt his consciousness slipping. He had to do something, anything. So he brought up his right hand, making the advancing figures freeze. He called on his strongest attack outside of trance, 'thievery'. And even though he was so weak, golden light gathered in his hand and then shot itself outwards at the figures, who swore loudly and said something like 'protego' as the explosion took them. The last thing he saw before passing out was the dancing golden flames of his attack.

**To be continued...**

...

A/N: Zidane's finally formally made contact with the Order in this one, though it wasn't much of a good first impression. As for why he is mass-robbing Diagon Alley, he sees it more as raising awareness. Though this whole problem has nothing to do with him, the teen still feels somewhat compelled to help.

By the way, Orichalcum is a rare ore that in many games is used to create strong, late-game, weapons.

I didn't really like the idea of Zidane getting a wand at first, but then I realized it was necesary for this fic. I like the irony in the fact that his wand is now made of the very thing that tried to kill him. Zidane's attacks are legit, though I modified a few a bit to fit the story more (in the game when you use thievery this chest manifests itself in the battlefield and then opens up to shoot the golden rays of light, but I thought it would look too comical in this situation). His attack 'Grand Lethal' is actually his strongest attack during trance, but he doesn't use it because he wants to defeat his enemies, not level the entire street. Death Eaters have partial control of the Dementors in this fic, since Voldemort has already started forming his army. In my head canon, trance can be triggered by strong emotions like anger and happiness, which do help slightly against the Dementor effects. Dementors still look pretty physically flimsy, so I don't think it would be tough to kill them with weapons once you get past their cold, happiness sucking abilities. Since wizards have the patronus spell and are mostly wimps when it comes to physical skill, I don't wager many of them would try to straight out stab them.

Anyways, I may go on a trip next weekend, so I might have Crystal update on my behalf if I'm not able to.

Reviews are always welcome.


	5. Chapter 5: The Enemy of my Enemy

**Note:** If you guys are reading this, then that means I am currently out of town and had Crystal upload this chapter. It's a lot shorter than the others, but I thought it was a good place for it to end. As always, reviews are always welcome, and thanks for everyone who has contributed so far, either by reviewing or adding this story to one of their lists.

**Chapter 5: The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend**

…..

"Bloody hell!" Tonks cursed as she got up from ground.

"_Aguamenti_. I agree. Kingsley, we can't seriously bring him back to headquarters, he could destroy the place." Remus said as he began to douse the fires.

"This might become a problem. We'll have to take him somewhere else then, we need to interrogate _it_ to find out what happened here. We can't let something with so much power just run freely. How's Ollivander?" Kingsley said massaging his temple.

"Just knocked out, I have no bloody clue what it gave him but it sure ain't poison. I think we should take him to Hogwarts, unless any of you want to use one of Gringott's vaults. Little monkey packs quite a punch." 'Mad Eye' Moody said, rubbing the rapidly bruising spot where he was hit.

"So Hogwarts then, do we all agree?" Tonks said and everyone nodded.

"We should tie him securely first, probably best to blindfold him too." Moody said.

"Agreed. Tonks, get the daggers and the pouch." Kingsley said.

….

Zidane groaned as he woke up. His throat was dry and his head was pounding. To make matters worse all he could see was darkness, and no, this time he was sure that his eyes were open. Automatically, his hands tried to reach for whatever was obscuring his view, but he then noted that he couldn't move at all.

'_They must had tied me down and blindfolded me, but then, I can't even move my fingers or tail.' _

In fact it was as if his muscles had gone completely unresponsive.

"Ah, I see you've finally awakened." Said an old grandfatherly voice. He felt something tap him on the forehead and then suddenly he realized that he could see.

He noticed that he was in a large circular room with many windows and moving portraits showing old looking men and women, most of which seemed to be whispering amongst themselves and sending furtive glances towards him. There were all sorts of books and strange silver objects that buzzed and sent small puffs of smoke which intrigued the genome. There also was a strange shallow stone basin and a perch that had a large red and gold bird. Zidane's eyes widened as he recognized the creature as a phoenix, obviously not as impressive as the Eidolon, but impressive nonetheless.

He then noticed the man in front of him. He was thin and tall with long silver hair and a beard that reached his waist. He had sparkling blue eyes that seemed to see through him behind the half moon glasses he wore.

The first thing that came to his mind was naturally Garland. There were obviously some differences, Garland would have never let himself get caught wearing bright magenta clothes. His eyes also did not sparkle merrily. They were better described as cold orbs of death. And lastly, this man did not wear black armor, nor did he have a red ball of pulsing light in an exposed black ribcage.

He also noticed other people in the room. They were the four people from before, only now he could see their features a lot better. He was quite pleased to see a large bruised already forming on scar-face's cheek. There was also an old and stern looking woman with rectangular glasses and her hair in a tight bun, as well as a pale man with greasy hair and a hooked nose.

"I'm quite sorry about the misunderstanding, care for a lemon drop?" The old man said, offering him a bowl while he popped a yellow candy in his mouth.

Zidane was simply confused. Weren't they going to torture, interrogate, or maybe even dissect him? He frowned. "No, thanks."

The fact that he called it a misunderstanding was a bit comforting, since perhaps it meant that he would be able to get his voice across. It could still be a trap to get him to let his guard down, but the fact that they hadn't hurt him or tried to kill him yet at least told him that they needed something from him.

"Well, that's a shame. Now let's get to the point, shall we? My name is Albus Dumbledore, I was wondering if we could ask you some questions Mr. Crescent."

'_So it IS an interrogation. They need information.'_

"Only if you answer mine." Zidane said.

He knew he was at a clear disadvantage with these people if he couldn't move. Of course, they'd have to be complete idiots to let him loose now. If he were in their situation he wouldn't let himself go either. That didn't mean he would show that weakness though.

"Alright then, I believe we have a deal." The old man said clapping his hands.

"Firstly, could you tell me if Ollivander is okay?" The blonde asked first.

Dumbledore waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry my boy. He is currently being taken care of by our healer, Madam Pomfrey."

Zidane looked at the old man in front of him with a hint of distrust. After all, he wasn't a complete idiot. As far as he knew, Albus Dumbledore was trying to warn the public of what's-his-face's return. But that didn't mean the man could be trustworthy. For all he knew this could be another Garland.

"How can I know for sure I can trust your word?"

"You can never know for sure, but I do hope you take a leap of faith, as I will right now." Dumbledore said and with a wave of his wand, Zidane found that he could move again.

He froze, and so did everyone else in the room, at least those that had seen him in action. If he wanted to escape, now would be the moment. He could see his daggers and wand on one of the tables nearby. His pouch wasn't there, but instead, it was being held by the woman with white hair. He paused. He could have sworn it was purple last time. Regardless, Zidane was very tempted to just run away. But then what? He was stuck eidolons-knew-where in a world completely different than his own. He had no idea how to get back, and these people could just be the ones that could help.

Zidane sighed, but to everyone's relief he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore. The atmosphere in the room became a lot less tense as the old man smiled.

"Alright, a leap of faith it is. What happened tonight?" Zidane asked and the others were taken by surprise.

"We were actually hoping you would tell us. All we know is that what Ollivander was targeted tonight by the same group of people from a few nights prior. He contacted me after that first incident to ask for protection as he feared for his life. In that same letter he spoke of a boy who saved him and for which he made a wand for. At least the wand you carry fits the description. But if that's the case, I should warn you that non-humans aren't allowed to purchase wands."

"I was the one that gave him the ingredients, and it was really more of a gift, so technically I didn't buy it from the old man, but what about him then?" Zidane said, pointing at the tired looking man that was probably quite young despite the graying hair and scars.

'Remus' stiffened considerably, as did the others in surprise. There was obviously some secret going on.

"Remus is… a special case. He isn't affected by Clause Three of the Code of Wand Use. But you don't have to worry about it, neither I nor anyone in this room will tell. Personally, I see no reason as to why the other races shouldn't be allowed wands."

Zidane decided not to pry any further. He wasn't that interested in laws and political crap anyways. "Well, thanks. Now could you tell me just what this is all about? Just who are you? You say you are not with What's-his-name, and you aren't in the ministry either, yet I recognize that man as an auror, at least from what I saw a few weeks back."

"Wait…you are the one that attacked Dawlish and Proudfoot!" Kingsley called out in anger, next to him the woman with changing hair colors looked just as surprised, and Zidane then recognized her from that night as well.

"Hey, they attacked _me_ first!" Zidane said indignantly.

"You used dark magic to blind him! We still don't know how to cure him!"

"You don't?" Zidane asked curiously.

"OF COUR-"

"Kingsley, please calm down." The old man said. "Now, I'm afraid we can't give this information freely, _unless, _of course, we can test to see if you are trustworthy. I apologize beforehand, but we are in some hard times."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Are you an occlumens?"

"What's an occlu-"

Zidane stopped as he saw several images pop up in his head. He saw himself fighting Blank in front of spectators, and then he saw Dagger's kidnapping and their escape from the Evil Forest. He saw their defeat in Burmecia, the mist's recession from the Iifa Tree, and he saw the destruction of Cleyra, Lindlum, and Alexandria. Then he saw Garland and finally he understood what was going on. He used all his will to push the invader out of his mind like he had done several times before with Garland and Kuja during his previous adventure.

"Don't EVER do that again!" Zidane would have shouted were he not short of breath. He could see that Dumbledore looked simply fascinated while the old witch with the tight bun looked at him disapprovingly. The other people in the room seemed to catch on too, and seemed surprised that the old wizard was _forced_ out.

"I'm sorry, I can get quite curious. I admit I only saw bits and pieces though. But, I'm afraid if you are against this method, we will have resort to the use veritaserum, also known as 'truth serum'. While under its effects, you will be unable to lie, making the process easy and absolutely painless." The old man apologized in a manner that showed that he wasn't really sorry at all.

"But Headmaster-" The greasy haired man began, but the old man interrupted him.

"It's all right Severus, now if you please." The old man said giving him an 'I know, but he doesn´t' look.

The greasy haired man left the room with his robes billowing behind him and appeared moments later with a golden goblet. Zidane reluctantly did as told and drank the liquid, which he noted had no distinctive smell, color, or taste. Soon waves of calmness overcame him, making his tail go limp and his eyes become dull. His mind felt all woozy and made him feel as if everything were okay.

"Now let's begin. What is your name? "

"Zidane Tribal."

"So it's not Marcus Crescent then?"

"No, that was an alias."

"Are you in allegiance with Voldemort?"

"No."

"Are you in allegiance to the ministry?"

"No."

"Do you have any ill wishes, or intend to purposely cause harm to anyone here?"

"No."

"Are you willing to keep any information you may learn here a secret?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?" At this, many of the people present looked at the old man questioningly. Why would he need to know that?

"Sixteen."

"When were you born?"

There was a pause. "September 9th 1783."

Immediately, gasps and murmurs rose in the room. The stern looking witch turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, what is the meaning o-"

"All will be explained Minerva. Now, where are you from Zidane?"

There was another longer pause. Seconds passed with great anticipation until, finally, the genome spoke. "I was raised in Lindblum."

"Where is Lindlum?"

"In the Mist Continent."

"Where is the Mist Continent?"

"In Gaia."

"Where is Gaia?"

Another long pause. "I don't know."

"How did you end up here?"

"An accident."

"Are you the one who's been raiding Diagon Alley?"

This question again brought questioning glances from the others.

"Yes."

More gasps came from those present as they looked at the blonde genome in amazement. This was the so called powerful wizard everyone was so wary of? Dumbledore had to clear his throat to gain everyone's attention back to the interrogation.

"Why did you steal from those people?"

"So that the minister would get his head out of his ass."

There were more gasps from the room, both from surprise at the thief's surprisingly noble intention and at the fact that he had just insulted the Minister of Magic. The last one resulted in chuckles from some of the people present. But Dumbledore narrowed his eyes as he noticed Zidane's speech quickly becoming more informal. Quickly, the old man just cut to the chase.

"And just what exactly are you Mr. Tribal?"

There was a pause. "A thief."

"I meant, what's your race?"

There was a longer pause. "I-I'm a genome."

Confusion could be clearly seen on every face in the room, though some hid it better than others.

"And pray tell Mr. Tribal, what is a genome?"

There was the longest pause yet, and if one looked closely you could see signs of the fight that was raging inside the genome that moment. And when he did give his answer, he said it with a strained voice.

"T-Terra's empty vessels."

Dumbledore's eye narrowed, losing their familiar twinkle, while the genome began panting and slowly began to snap out of his serum induced state. Everyone else simply looked on in confusion by the vague description of the blonde's race. Zidane's eyes focused and his tail began to twitch and swish around. Soon enough his breathing settled and the genome raked a gloved hand through his hair turning to look at Dumbledore with a serious look.

"So am I trustworthy or do you need to know my blood type as well?" The teen said with sarcasm. There was a slight tremble still remaining in his voice as the teen tried to recover his breath. He was still angry that the old man dug so deep into his personal information.

The twinkle returned to the man's eyes and suddenly he looked tired.

"I apologize for prying. It has always been one of my greatest defects. 'Curiosity killed the cat' I believe the saying goes. But there's another reason I did it. One which I plan to tell you, once of course, I have answered all your questions."

Zidane nodded and after dismissing everyone else from the room, Dumbledore gave him a long and intricate explanation of pretty much everything he wanted to know and more, from Voldemort's raise to power, to his defeat, and his rebirth. He realized that the reason for dismissing the others was because they probably knew this already, and because they would think he was crazy for giving out so much top secret information. Of course, there was probably a lot of information still being kept from him, but the old man did fulfill his promise, so Zidane then told him of what happened earlier in the shop, keeping some details like his trance form to himself of course. He wasn't going to give up all his secrets either. Dumbledore seemed to be most wary of his mention of the hooded creatures, Dementors as he learned they were called, joining the attack. He seemed surprised at the fact that he _killed_ three.

By the end of the explanation, Dumbledore's tone became serious once more.

"Zidane, I thank you for helping Ollivander and for the information in light of these new…events, but I would like to ask of you one more thing. It's for this reason, that I also looked so deep into your background."

The blonde's cyan eyes locked into the old man's own serious non-twinkling blue. He had a feeling this was going to happen. The old man probably had this planned from the beginning. Said man seemed to slump into his chair, looking older and more worn out than ever.

"I-I'm worried for young Harry. I've been keeping him in the dark, which I know will have great repercussions in the future. If he hates me right now I wouldn't blame him. But I'm afraid this year will be the hardest for him yet, not only will a great number of students turn against him, but I find the connection between him and Voldemort to be most… troubling, especially now that he is back. The ministry has also decided to infiltrate Hogwarts, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher being Fudge's personal spy. I know well that eventually this may end up forcing me to leave Hogwarts. That's why I would like to ask you to join the Order of the Phoenix, to come to Hogwarts this year in the guise of a student, watch over Harry, and protect him should anything happen. I'd be willing to pay for your services if you'd like, just tell me how much and I'm sure we could come to an agreement."

Zidane paused for a moment. He just knew something like this would happen. He had just gotten out of one war and fell right into the next. He thought of just how hard the war had been on him and his friends, and he really didn't wish it on these people. He could clearly see that the old man _needed_ him. The reason he had been so willing to tell him everything was just so he could put him through this guilt trip, which to make matters worse, was clearly working. He disagreed completely on the idea of having a whole community depend on a single teen to solve their problems. He also thought that it was wrong to keep the boy in the dark. If he was so eager to fight as the old man told him, then they should be training him to increase his chances of success and survival. Even despite all these facts, Zidane could still sympathize since at one point during the war, he also wished that Eiko and Vivi could just live normal lives like other kids their ages. Regardless, it was obvious that Dumbledore was entrusting him something great, as a student he would be able to protect Harry in a level most adults could not.

But then there was Dagger and all the others that were waiting for him. Besides, could he really afford to get involved in another war? He still had duties back home as future king and hero. There was always a very real chance that he could die, too. He already came very close to losing his life several times during his last adventure. Furthermore, he wasn't even really a wizard, meaning that outside this group, he was still in great danger of being found out.

If he accepted the deal and everything still went according to plan, he would still be gone for a _year_. A year was way too long. Dagger would think he had long since died by then, and if she still believed he was alive then she might still be forced to move on and marry some rich aristocrat. And then when he thought of all the possible things that could happen while he was away, he realized just how risky it all way.

But then again, he still had no idea how to get back, if he could get back at all. There was no need to lie to himself, Zidane knew he was awful at magic, particularly the more theoretical part that he would need to find a way home. He'd considered just trying the same spell over and over again until he got it right, but even if he didn't end up blowing himself up, there was no telling where he would end up. At that point he'd quickly realized that he had reached a dead end with his research. Going to Hogwarts could perhaps provide him with the knowledge he needed. Not to mention that the man before him was considered the greatest wizard of the time.

There was a lot of risk with this deal, but if he accepted, then he would at least have a decent chance of getting back.

With a nod of his head the genome made his decision.

"Alright, I accept. But there won't be any need to pay me, just a small favor will do."

"And what would that favor be?"

"I just need you to help me get home." Zidane said with a smile.

The twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes, and the old man found himself laughing merrily. "I must say Mr. Tribal, you certainly are something. I never thought I'd meet a thief who wasn't interested in gold. But, I believe we have reached an agreement. Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."

….

After the agreement was reached, Dumbledore called everyone and informed them of their new addition. He made sure that formal introductions were made, and was surprised to see that the thief just had this way with people. Even Moody didn't seem to be able to hold a grudge against the blonde boy, though trusting the blonde teen or any other wizard for that matter was still beyond the ex-Auror. Zidane even apologized to Kingsley and handed him a strange vial from his pouch that he said would cure Proudfoot. After all was said and done, the boy was handed all his things back and sent to one of the castle guest rooms, seeing as it was indeed very late.

Sitting tiredly behind his desk, the old wizard turned his gaze towards the large bird now preening its scarlet feathers.

"So what do you think of our new member Fawkes?"

The phoenix paused its work to trill happily.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly as he stroked his familiar's soft feathers. "Yes, this does promise to be an interesting year."

To be continued...

...

OMAKE:

Snape sneered as he looked down at the dirty, worn out bag that apparently belonged monkey tailed teen that was now bound and unconscious in the other room. The others had apparently found nothing better to do than to bring him over o make up for their incompetence at protecting a single wand-maker by arriving late to the attack he'd risked his neck to find out about.

Giving the blonde a once-over he still found it increasingly hard to believe that he had been the one to repel the Death Eater attack singlehandedly.

Glaring at the bag again, the greasy haired man sighed as he opened it. As per Dumbledore's request, he'd been asked to check the teen's possessions for anything of interest. Unsurprisingly the inside was a lot larger than the outside as what happened with other enchanted bags that could be found in possession of many wizards and witches. What did surprise him, however, was the sheer amount of rubbish that was inside of it.

He tentatively picked up a dirty sock that was amongst what had to be the teen's dirty clothes pile, before letting it down with a look of utter disgust. Human or not, the blonde was still very much as messy as any other teen. Separated within another closed section of the bag he found what appeared to be a nearly impossible number of vials, some looking a bit different than others, as if using different types of glass to differentiate between its contents. There were also entire jars filled with what appeared to be feathers and herbs.

The biggest surprise was when he checked through what appeared to be the largest section of the bag, whose contents included several dozen pieces of parchments, some books, a few broken bells, a flute, several peppers and greens, an antique mirror, a medal of some sort, and even a deck of strange playing cards. Noticing a piece of something that was stuck under a large jar filled with some type of nut, Snape tentatively reached for it and then held it up to inspect it. It was then, after quickly realizing what it was, that the man let go of the object with a sneer of disgust on his face and then wiped his sullied hand on his black robe.

Why would anyone even have a rat tail within their possessions?

...

A/N: Okay so the Rat Tail is an actual item in the game that you can buy at the Auction House and sell to other people in Treno (again no idea why anyone would want that). The other items described are also within the game.

For those of you who wanted a war between Zidane and the Order, I think this is the more logical outcome for a number of reasons:

-He would be fighting alone against the Order and by extension, the whole Wizarding World. He is strong, but wouldn't stand a chance against so many and he knows it.

-He doesn't really want to start another war since he just came out of one (and just barely alive).

-His altruistic side sympathises with the Order and wants him to help those in need (especially because of his now growing animosity towards Death Eaters.)

-He needs to get home and understands that his chances are pretty slim if he tries alone because this type of magic is waaaay above his level right now. For this same reason he is willing to sacrifice a year (he would take a lot longer if he tried on his own, on the off chance that he doesn't end up killing himself by accident).

-He gets food and shelter, plus he gets to experience a relatively stable lifestyle, at least compared to how he was surviving until now.

That's it for now, see you guys next week!


	6. Chapter 6: First Impressions

**Notes:** My feet hurt from standing in line for nearly 4 hours to take care of some university red tape, I'm starving, and there's still a bunch of stuff I need to o before classes start, but whatever here's the chapter. This one goes out for my BFFF, Crystal. Thanks for reading all the crap I send you, though it may be more than a hundred pages long, and written at 4 in the morning.

Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their lists and especially thanks to those that have reviewed (and whose continued support motivates me to keep this up). You could say this chapter is where the story truly begins.

**Chapter 6: First Impressions**

….

The next day was quite calm for the genome.

He visited Ollivander at the Hospital Wing right before the crazy old wand maker left, seeing as he was already deemed fit enough to be discharged. He managed to avoid getting lost in the huge castle only because of his abilities as a thief and because of his previous experience traversing large structures. If Zidane had to be honest, the place was simply huge, and more than just being huge, it was _fun_. There were dozens of secret passages here and there, staircases that changed position, spiraling towers, moving paintings, trick steps, statues that opened up, and towers that could be opened with passwords. In one word; it was a thief's playground.

'_Too bad the old man said thieving was strictly prohibited. Just imagine all the treasures that are lurking within the castle!"_

The blonde thought with a sigh as he pondered whether treasure hunting would actually be considered thieving.

Zidane really couldn't help it. It was just part of his nature. He wasn't an S classed treasure hunter for nothing. He left his precarious perch on top of the Astronomy Tower and decided to explore the grounds next. There was a large peaceful lake and a cozy hut standing at the edge of a dark menacing forest. He was told it was dangerous inside and not to go in, and since he saw no reason to do so, he just carried on. There would be time to explore later.

Eventually he decided to stop and rest somewhere in the shade, since it really was quite hot outside and he'd had quite enough of stone passages for the time being.

'_Say maybe I can rest under that odd looking willow?'_ Zidane thought, deciding to approach the lonesome tree. It was an odd looking tree, but he supposed that shade would be shade no matter what tree he decided to rest under.

Bad idea.

The moment he got near, the tree _attacked_ him. He was only able to dodge in time as the demon tree tried to slam him with its branches. Why did trees always want to kill him? No, the better question was; why would anyone decide to put a bastardized Iifa in a school full of children?

In his anger he somehow managed to procure a small explosion with 'thievery' as the tree tried attacking him again. The willow fell back as part of its twisted trunk was hit and set ablaze. He was going to go for a second shot, before he was stopped by Professor McGonagall, the strict looking witch from last night. She doused the fire on the tree and berated him for attempting to destroy a rare and valuable species of tree.

"Hey, it's not fair! Iifa's bastard love child here attacked me first!"

That got him reprimanded for his language as well.

After the Whomping Willow incident, the wizards decided to get him out of their hair for the rest of the afternoon, and sent him to the house of another order member, Arabella Figg, there he also met a scruffy ginger-haired man by the name of Mundungus Fletcher. While the batty old lady was nice enough, Fletcher reminded him of some of the shadier dealers he had met in Treno, the stench of cigars and alcohol that emanated from him did not help his image in any way.

Soon Mrs. Figg got in a heated argument with the man, who left to do something along the lines of buying stolen cauldrons. Yep, definitely a dealer. He really wondered how the man ended up joining the Order. Soon he and the old lady settled for tea, well at first she accidentally gave him a bowl of milk that was meant for one of her pets. It was then that he realized that the old lady also happened to be a cat lady; a cat lady with lots of cats. Well, they were supposedly half Kneazle, but still, they looked like cats, cats that seemed to be particularly interested in him.

"Awww see, Hoppy, Tufty and Mr. Paws like you. Now Snowy, stop playing with the nice boy's tail."

Indeed, two of the cats were purring loudly while begging for his attention, a third was sleeping comfortably on his lap, while a fourth was batting playfully at his tail, which he decided to leave uncovered since Mrs. Figg already knew about it. He wasn't going to hide a part of himself like that unless there was danger involved, and of course, he couldn't care less about the stares he occasionally got from the wizards. He'd already learned to ignore them long ago.

Soon however, Mr. Tibbles came in through the cat door with a message. Mrs. Figg was quickly out the door, tartan slippers still on feet and her handbag dangling on one shoulder, while he was left behind with several cats on his person and orders to wait for her until she got back.

….

"I AM GOING TO KILL MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER!"

Those words echoed across the empty street as Harry dragged his large unconscious cousin on his back, Mrs. Figg the old cat lady from Wysteria Walk, now revealed to be a Squib working for Dumbledore, was still shouting curses at the man who was supposed to have been watching him. But his mind was elsewhere. He had just fended off two Dementors and produced a Patronus, which meant he had just performed underage magic, meaning he could be expelled from Hogwarts and have his wand snapped.

The walk back to the Dursley's felt long and agonizing. His muscles felt like they would snap from the exertion of having to drag his large fat cousin, who by the way, weighed more than _three times_ his own weight. His head was also throbbing with the two injuries he acquired the same day, a bump in his head from when he hit it earlier as he was trying to sneak under the window to hear the news, and his most recent addition when his stupid cousin socked him in the face.

After watching Mrs, Figg savagely beat the scruffy looking Mundungus with her handbag (which seemed to be filled with cat food) and getting back to the house, he received an earful from his walrus-like Uncle Vernon and the skinny horse-faced Aunt Petunia, and nearly got kicked right out of the house, stopped only by a surprising howler sent to his aunt. He received a series of letters, first expelling him, then one from Mr. Weasley telling him to remain calm and stay there, finally, and much to his relief, a second letter from the Ministry decided to postpone their decision to expel him until after a hearing on the 12th of August.

Which brought him back to the present.

_I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here._

He sent the message to Ron, Hermione, and Sirius, snapping at his snowy owl, Hedwig, in the process, which only to make him feel terrible afterwards. He'd make sure to apologize with an owl treat later.

He had expected a fast reply, but no, three days afterwards and he still had no reply whatsoever. And in those same three days his frustration only grew, his only slight relief was that the Dursleys were avoiding him like the plague. Still, that didn't change the fact that everyone was keeping him isolated and in the dark. In few of their letters they almost sounded like they were reprimanding a naughty boy.

But finally after four days since the incident, his answer came in the form of a crash downstairs. Harry knew that the Dursleys were away, so it couldn't possibly be them. When he did come downstairs, wand out, to check who the intruders were, he never expected to find his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Well, technically he didn't get to do much teaching considering he was locked up in a chest for months by an imposter.

"Lower you wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out."

Lupin was there as well, looking older and with more patches in his robes, but he was more than happy to see the man again. There were also several other wizards and witches that came to greet him. He quickly came to like the somewhat clumsy auror, Nymphadora Tonks, who he learned was a metamorphmagus and preferred to be called by her surname. But his curiosity peaked when Lupin introduced him to a certain wizard. It wasn't just because Lupin was the one doing the introductions, unlike the others who had no problems introducing themselves, but also because the slightly short wizard before him hadn't said a word and wore a black cloak and scarf that fully hid his features. All he knew about the strange and somewhat eerie man was that his name was Marcus Crescent.

…

Zidane waited for Harry and Tonks to come back down with all the teen's things ready. He had practically badgered everyone to let him come since he was curious about his future charge, and quite honestly, he wanted some action. Dumbledore was reluctant to let him come since he didn't want Harry to know he was in the Order, mainly because once he became a student, it would make it much harder to get close to the spectacled boy. That's why they decided that a disguise was in need, as well as a fake name. Thusly, Marcus Crescent made his debut once again.

The genome had to admit he was a bit excited, this would be the first time he would get to ride a broom of all things (he had already been explained how to do it and everything, but it wasn't the same), and it would also be his first time visiting headquarters.

After ten minutes or so, Harry and Tonks came down the stairs with the boy's trunk and a birdcage, most likely for his owl. Moody had just reset his magical eye in his socket, which had been previously dumped in a glass of water since it had been having some 'technical difficulties', just as Lupin finished sealing a letter to the boy's relatives.

"Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry-"

"They won't."

"-that you're safe-"

"That'll just depress them."

"-and you'll see them next summer."

"Do I have to?"

Lupin laughed while Zidane raised a hidden eyebrow. _'Someone hates their relatives.'_

Then Moody called the boy over an explained exactly what they would be doing. After Tonks cracked a joke, breaking the tense atmosphere, and Kingsley assured them nobody would die, Moody called Harry over to stand next to him, and then called for the genome.

"Crescent!"

Zidane knew what he had to do, it was partially the reason he was allowed to come. He walked up to the wizard, who he noted was a bit taller than him, and began to prepare his spell. The teen before him looked at him curiously and even seemed to strain his vision to see the face under the hood, but to no avail. Zidane had made sure his face was perfectly hidden by a scarf and he even tilted his head forward so his eyes wouldn't accidentally reflect any light and freak the boy out. When the spell was fully charged, he raised a hand, startling the boy, and released the spell, making the boy and even his broom disappear out of thin air.

…

Harry flinched as he saw the hooded wizard raise a hand, and then he felt as if something odd yet completely intangible had enveloped him. He looked down but then saw that he was invisible. Moody patted the wizard on the back being clearly impressed, and many of the other people in the room looked on with amazement.

Once they lifted from the ground after the green signal, Harry realized something about the man he hadn't noticed before. He had cast that spell without a wand. Looking to his side, he saw the wizard again, hood still in place despite the wind, and noticed that his posture seemed very rigid and tense, almost as if he had never flown a broom before.

….

Zidane held onto the broom for his life. He had borrowed this broomstick from one of the Order members who called it a Nimbus 1700. It was more comfortable than he thought a wooden stick jammed near his crotch could possibly be, but that didn't change the fact that he was soaring through the biting cold winds, high in the air, at around one hundred and eight miles per hour. His fingers felt numb even from within his gloves, while he had long lost feeling of his invisible tail. For all he knew, it had most likely frozen tightly around the broomstick since he had curled it there for extra grip. The hood of his cloak had surprisingly stayed in place. Zidane assumed it was because it had frozen solid. The only thing he was thankful of was slight protection that his disguise gave him against the cold.

Zidane mentally grumbled to himself. _'Lindblum never got this cold, even when it snowed it seemed warmer than this!'_

After some bickering amongst the members, especially from Moody who wanted to circle around once more to make sure no one followed. The group finally, and much to everyone's relief, landed in a patchy square of grass. After making sure that an invisible Harry was still with them, they decided to move on. Nearby was a series of houses that didn't exactly look…welcoming. Many of them had broken windows and trash piling in the streets.

Moody fumbled with cold fingers for something in his pocket, with a cry of victory he pulled out a silver lighter and clicked it. One by one the lights in the street lamps were sucked into the device, bathing the street in darkness. Moody then beckoned both Harry and Zidane over. Harry had to point himself out because of his invisibility, while the genome moved awkwardly because his tail (and therefore part of his butt) was still very much numb and frozen. He fished out a slip of paper and showed it to them.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld place, London._

….

"What's the Order of the-" Harry was about to ask but was shushed by Moody.

He, as well as the cloaked wizard next to him, were told to think about what they read. Soon a large derelict looking house expanded from between numbers eleven and thirteen. They walked up to the peeling black door, Harry noticed that 'Crescent' was walking rather slowly and awkwardly, almost stumbling a few times, but just like before he remained silent. Moody soon tapped the door with his wand, and the sound of opening locks greeted his ears.

Inside the place looked just as abandoned as the outside. The only sure sign of life was the quick scuttle he heard behind him, the sound of footsteps from their group, and the faint sound of something being dragged across the floor. It was completely dark so he couldn't see the house's features or really _anything_. At some point he could have sworn he stepped on something, and because of his slight shock, he bumped into the hooded wizard that had frozen in place in front of him. Moody then did something, and made the old gas lamps flicker to life with a hiss. With the new illumination he was able to see his surrounding and took notice of the dark colored furniture, the grotesque displays, and the house's recurring snake motif.

If he had to take a guess, he would say he was in the house of a very dark wizard, with Voldemort as its interior decorator.

The hooded wizard then turned around to face him, and for a moment he could have sworn he had seen something glow from under the hood. More importantly he wondered how he knew exactly where he was, the black depths from the hood seemingly staring straight at his very soul. Needless to say it made him feel very uncomfortable.

The cloaked man raised his gloved hand once again and he felt the intangible cover disappear. It was then that they were greeted by the plump red headed woman that was Mrs. Molly Weasely, Ron's mother. She was much thinner and paler than before, but it was still good to see the Weasley matriarch.

"Oh Harry, it's lovely to see you!" She whispered, pulling him into a hug and then examining him critically. "You're a bit peaky. You'll need feeding up, but you're going to have to wait a bit until dinner I'm afraid."

She then proceeded to tell the other wizard that 'he' was here, meaning that the meeting would start soon. Harry was going to ask Mrs. Weasely about the house, but instead he was told to quietly go up to the rooms, so as to not wake anything up, and meet with Ron and Hermione who would fill him in since the meeting was for members only. He grumbled under his breath but obeyed and headed up the creaking sets of stairs, looking in disgust at the many 'decorations' that littered the place, like the house elf heads that had been reduced and put up in display.

When he opened the door to the room he was told to go to, he was nearly thrown back as a force collided against him. When he opened his eyes he saw a mass of bushy hair. It was Hermione.

"HARRY! Ron, Harry is here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you?..." Hermione carried on. Harry barely caught her saying something about being sorry and that he couldn't possibly be expelled, but Harry tuned it out since at the moment he was barely getting enough oxygen to stay conscious.

"Hermione, let him breath." Ron said and Hermione released him from her vice-like grip. The redhead had gotten taller over the summer making him look ganglier and more awkward than ever.

"Hedwig!" Harry turned and indeed the snowy owl flew and settled on his shoulder while Ron's owl, Pig flew around their heads.

"She wouldn't stop pecking us, probably knew you'd want an answer." Ron said holding up his hand to show the bite marks. Harry could also see some on Hermione's hand.

Which reminded him…

…

Zidane settled in one of the stools, closest to the door (out of habit), since chairs with back-rests weren't comfortable for his tail. Said tail was currently invisible, but being massaged by him. It was stinging painfully, not just from having nearly been frozen solid, but also because Harry stepped on it earlier in the hall. Sheer willforce was the only thing that stopped him from crying out earlier, though it still being a bit numb from the cold did help.

He was surprised the moment he got in and saw the many people gathered. He was even more surprised when his eyes fell on the ponytailed redhead he had met in Gringotts in what seemed like an eternity ago.

"Bill?"

The redhead reacted to his name and turned around to look at who had addressed him. He looked at him in confusion for a moment and then Zidane realized he still had his hood on. He took it off and saw the redhead look at him in surprise.

"Marcus?"

Zidane grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head and giving a nervous laugh, before offering his hand. "Sorry about that, name's really Zidane, Zidane Tribal."

"Bloody hell, you mean YOU'RE the new member?"

Zidane nodded as Bill shook his hand. The redhead suddenly had a look as if he had just realized something great.

"Then you're not…?"

"Yep."

"Bloody awesome… well then, welcome aboard!"

Suddenly Mrs. Weasley entered the room, closing the door behind her and muttering a spell while pointing her wand. As she made her way past him, she looked at him, passed it off, but then stopped dead in her tracks, turned back to face him, and gave him a once over. Suddenly, she looked like she had just seen someone kick a puppy, but then she turned around and walked away with a fierce look in her eyes, most likely to go strangle Dumbledore by the looks of it.

As he went back to looking at the table, he flinched when his sensitive ears heard some impressive shouting coming from somewhere upstairs.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS FOR A MONTH!..."

It looked like Harry had gone into full angst mode.

….

Harry finished his loud rant, feeling his breath come in gasps, but feeling _so much_ better. Ron and Hermione had their eyes wide and mouth hanging in shock. Hedwig and Pig had wisely decided to take refuge on top of the wardrobe. Hermione had already apologized but he really wasn't in the mood. Soon after he calmed down, at least enough to talk, though his tone was still cold and distant, he began to ask his questions.

"What is this place anyways?"

"The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

"And will anybody be willing to tell me just what the Order of the Phoenix is?"

The Order of the Phoenix was, as he learned, an organization created by Dumbledore to put a stop to Voldemort when he first came to power. There were several members, and from the few things Ron and Hermione had gathered from eavesdropping with the Weasely twins' new inventions, the extendable ears, the order was working to keep tabs on Death Eaters, recruit more people, and guard something, well, probably him.

Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione had been helping with clean up duty in the house. And judging by what he saw, the place was really in need of it. Then Fred and George decided to make an entrance and apparate into the room, startling Hermione in the process.

"Hello Harry. We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

The twins attempted to eavesdrop again but then Ginny showed up to tell them that the door had been charmed making such task impossible. They then proceeded to tell him everything that had happened. Apparently Snape was also in the Order, Ron's brothers Bill and Charlie were in the order as well. Bill returned from Egypt and had gotten a desk job here in London. He was also now in a relationship with Fleur Delacour, Beuxbaton's champion from last year's tournament. Charlie was still in Romania, helping to get as many foreign wizards as possible. And also, Percy had gotten in a row with the rest of the Weasleys. Apparently it would be wise to avoid mentioning him in front of Ron's parents. He had never been his favorite out of Ron's siblings, but he had never thought he would turn his back on his family like that. They also mentioned Kreacher, the probably mad house elf that lived here. This was all Hermione needed to start talking about SPEW again.

Suddenly, Harry remembered something he wanted to tell them.

"Have you guys ever seen this hooded fellow, Lupin said his name was Marcus Crescent, he was one of the men that came to take me, and well…he did a spell wandlessly, and not just any spell. He made me and my Firebolt invisible."

"We've never heard of that bloke before. We did hear of a new member, but nothing else, maybe that's him."

"Are you sure? Wandless magic is extremely difficult, and as far as I know, there aren't spells that make people fully invisible. Are you sure it wasn't just a disillusionment charm?"

"I'm sure, I wasn't just blending in, I was fully invisible."

The group was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley who came to tell them that they could come down now. They quickly headed downstairs hoping to catch a snippet about what happened at the meeting. They saw Snape leave since, according to his friends, he never stayed for dinner. And then they heard a crash and all hell broke loose.

Tonks had tripped and knocked down an ugly umbrella stand, and as soon as she did that, the moth eaten curtains that Harry had seen on his way in opened revealing possibly the ugliest he had ever seen in his young life painted on canvas. The woman in the painting was old and had waxy yellow skin, with a crazed look in her eyes, and with a mouth that drooled as she screamed almost as if she were under the Cruciatus curse. Her banshee like screeches reverberated through the house waking up the other portraits who joined in.

"Filth! Scum! By products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds! Mutants! Freaks! How dare you defile this noble house! Get out!"

Meanwhile Mrs. Weasley was trying her hardest to close the curtains but to no avail. Tonks was trying as well, looking quite sorry and embarrassed. But the shouting didn't stop. Harry was already fearing for his eardrums when he saw a long haired man, who Harry immediately recognized as his godfather, Sirius Black.

The woman in the painting took a look at him, and screeched.

"YOOOU. TRAITOR! ABOMINATION! SHAME OF MY FLESH!"

Sirius went to help Mrs. Weasley with the curtains while shouting in an attempt to match the insane looking woman.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

Sirius continued screaming but it didn't seem to help. Just then the door from the kitchen slammed open revealing the exasperated expressions from the people within. Harry saw with some surprise that the hooded man from before pushed past everyone else until he was with Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Tonks. Only instead of helping, he raised his hand as a spell seemed to fly out of it. The spell hit the painting and the moment it hit the woman, there was silence. She was still screaming her lungs out, but there was no sound. Then the hooded individual turned around slowly in a way that it would appear he was looking at the other paintings as if challenging them. The other paintings promptly shut up. Then as if nothing happened he walked back into the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

Sirius seemed to take a sigh of relief and then smiled like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He then turned to Harry. "Hello Harry, I see you've met my mother, I'll have to thank him later for that."

Apparently this was Sirius's old family house. And up until now, they have tried everything to get the portrait to permanently shut up. They had tried bringing it down but it had proven impossible to do since it was likely it was charmed to the wall.

Harry entered the kitchen with everyone else. It was a cavernous room with stone walls that was slightly less gloomy than the other rooms, but that was probably because this room had already been worked on. On one corner of the room was Mundungus Fletcher who he had initially mistaken for a pile of rags. He was woken up by Sirius and was about to light up a pipe until Mrs. Weasley stopped him. She clearly did not approve of the man. Mr. Weasley was reading the newspaper calmly until he saw him and came to greet him. Next to him he could see that Bill and Marcus were talking to each other in whispers so low Harry couldn't even hear Marcus's voice. In front of them were some papers that looked like building plans.

"Journey all right Harry?" Bill asked. "Moody didn't make you go through Greenland did he?"

Marcus scoffed and that was probably the first real sound he had heard from him.

"He definitely tried to." Tonks said before tipping off a candle and making it burn the papers on the table. "Oh sorry!"

Mrs. Weasley put it out and after seeing his curious gaze, she made the paper disappear. She then asked around for people to help out. The only ones she told to stay put were him, Tonks (most likely for her clumsiness), and surprisingly Marcus, even though the hooded man had originally stood to help. Harry wondered briefly if he would ever take off his hood.

It was… unnerving.

Harry went to join Sirius and Mundungus, looking a bit surprised to see that Marcus was right behind him. The scruffy ginger headed man apologized to him for leaving on his shift before, asking to talk privately with Marcus which earned him a look from Sirius. He watched both men sit further away, before flinching as he felt something rub against his leg. Looking down he saw Crookshanks look right up with yellow eyes before rubbing against him in greeting, and then heading over to where the other men sat. To his surprise he saw the ginger cat rub against Marcus while purring quite loudly and meowing to get his attention. He had never seen Crookshanks greet a stranger like that. To his even greater surprise the man picked up Crookshanks carefully, put him on his lap, and began to pet the cat. When Mundungus made a reach for him, the cat bared his fangs and hissed at him. Beside him, Sirius laughed.

"That cat is a good judge of character."

For reasons unknown to him, those worlds made him feel only slightly calmer. Harry then learned that the reason Mundungus was in the Order was because of his connections to the several crooks, giving him the ability to hear things nobody else did. When he asked about Marcus he was told that he only joined recently and that as far as he knew, the hooded man had combat experience, and was the type of man to have several aces up his sleeve, otherwise nobody really knew much about him.

The conversation then took another turn when Sirius mentioned Harry's small run-in with the Dementors. Apparently all Sirius could do was waste around the house and help clean, since Voldemort probably knew about his animagus form by now. The ministry too was still after Sirius, making it impossible for him to get a break.

Harry sighed and then looked at Marcus. He really wondered what the man looked like underthat hood. From his position here he could only hear whispers from their conversation which was mostly one-sided. It looked like Mundungus was trying to get something from the other man, but the other continued shaking his head. Harry strained his ears but only caught a few words.

"-Trade secret-…-noble-…-information-…-equal share…-could be rich."

Sirius too was eavesdropping a bit on the conversation, but he had clearly a better idea of what was going on. Harry was going to ask him but he was snapped out when he heard Mrs. Weasley shrieking.

"Fred-George, NO JUST CARRY THEM!"

He heard Crookshanks yowl and saw him jump from Marcus's lap before all four looked around and jumped out of the way just as a series of charmed objects flew at them. A metal flagon of butterbeer fell with a crash, making it spill its contents. A cauldron filled with stew skidded along the table, leaving black trail marks on the wood. A heavy wooden breadboard complete with a knife also flew at them, the knife dislodging itself from the wood and flying towards them. Harry only saw a blur of black from where he fell on his back, and the knife was gone. He saw Sirius next to him also on the floor, and a few feet away he could see Mundungus as well. Seeing that Marcus was not next to Mundungus, he looked around and then he saw him. His hood was still in place obscuring his features, but rather than having fallen down, the man was in a low almost animalistic crouch, he would have been on all fours had it not been for the fact that he had in his right hand the same kitchen knife that was flying through the air just seconds ago. The most terrifying thing however, was _how_ he held the knife; it was in a position that could only be described as 'poised and ready to strike', his whole stance suggested experience with blades and the way the hood masked his features made him look all the more terrifying.

"JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DO MAGIC DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD JUST WHIP YOUR WANDS AT EVERYTHING!"

Mrs. Weasley once again shrieked, and this seemed to snap Marcus out of his stance as if he didn't even realize he was in it. The man straightened up and put the knife on the table. Harry then heard a sound emanate from him, and after focusing on the rhythmic sounds he realized the man was chuckling. But it was low and yet light-hearted.

The rest of the meal went without another accident. While Bill was in a deep discussion about Goblin loyalties with Remus, Tonks used her metamorphmagus skills to entertain everyone. Harry of course found himself on the receiving end of Mrs. Weasley's mothering spree. But much to his surprise he wasn't the only one. The Weasley matron also seemed to fuss over Marcus as well, only in a more guarded way. The mysterious man had yet to take off his hood, even to eat, but his posture gave him the feeling he was just as uncomfortable with the attention as he was.

"Nearly time for bed, I think." Molly said with a yawn.

"Not just yet Molly." Sirius interrupted and then turned towards Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

Harry felt indignant. "I did! I asked Ron and Hermione, but they said we are not allowed in the Order so-"

"And they are quite right. You are too young." Mrs. Weasley snapped, all traces of drowsiness gone.

"Since when does one have to be in the Order to ask questions?" Sirius asked, and Harry thought he heard Marcus snort. "He has been stuck in that Muggle house for a month. He has the right to know what has been happening!"

…

'Marcus' felt like rubbing his eyes, he could totally see how this would turn into an argument. The twins, Fred and George, as well as the others were complaining about not getting any information. He really couldn't blame them. Mrs. Weasley was a nice woman, and she could be a real behemoth when it came to protecting her kids, but they had a point, they really were old enough. Maybe it was because he had already set out and traversed the entire Mist Continent _alone_ when he was even younger than them. Hell he practically helped save the world and he was still a bit younger than the twins. Regardless, the woman was missing the point. There was doubtlessly going to be a war and the more her kids knew, the safer and more prepared they would be and that meant they were less likely to die.

Soon the argument escalated. Sirius wanted to tell them everything, Molly wanted them all ignorant, Mr. Weasley was more tolerant stating that Dumbledore knew that they should be at least informed of some things, and Remus insisted it was better for them to know now than for them to get some jumbled up facts later. When Mrs. Weaseley turned to him with her hands on her hips as if daring him to disagree with her, since she already knew he was sixteen, he just raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender. He really didn't want to get involved.

"Well… I see that I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart-"

"He's not your son." Sirius said quietly.

"He's as good as! Who else has he got?"

"He's got me!" Sirius snapped back.

"Yes, the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban hasn't it? Sirius, he is not James!"

Zidane mentally winced, judging by Sirius's reaction, that had hit right below the metaphorical belt. Remus intervened just as Sirius got up to do something he would have most likely regretted later. In the end she practically dragged Ginny upstairs, though she was most likely going to get the facts from that girl, Hermione later, since they all looked like a pretty close knitted group. He was quite happy to see that Harry trusted so much in his friends even after they kept him in the dark. That would help him a lot later, though judging by what he already heard about him, the three had already been through many adventures together.

The adults answered all the teen's questions. He knew by the boy's reaction that he had already known most of these things, most likely from his friends. The explanation was greatly generalized and quite obvious too. Voldemort was waiting his time because he hadn't expected Harry to survive and then tell Dumbledore, Voldemort's worst fear, who quickly got his act together. Because of this, the man had avoided bringing unnecessary attention to himself. But then, if you thought about it, he pretty much failed epically at that too. After the genome entered the picture, Aurors had been posted to guard Diagon Alley, and to make manners worse he had practically blown up part of the street when snake-face decided it would be fun to abduct a wand maker. So yeah, subtlety really had failed. If that didn't make the populace think something was fishy, then he had some really bad news for them, and they had nothing to do with Voldemort.

"Well the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who really has returned, to put them on their guard. It's proven tricky though." Bill said.

"But why?" Harry asked.

"It's the Ministry. You saw Fudge after the third task. He hasn't changed his opinion from last time. He continues to insist that Voldemort has not returned. He has also been heavily relying on the Daily Prophet to make everyone believe that everything's okay, using his influence to also tarnish Dumbledore's name. The only reason he decided to post some Aurors in Diagon Alley was because he got pestered by some of the high ranking members of the Ministry after a string of thefts. He knew he couldn't refuse them and risk losing their favor, and in the end it worked out better for us." Tonks said.

"Wait, so was the Order related to the thefts? And why is Fudge after Dumbledore?"

"Well the first was simply… unexpected luck." Lupin said and Harry noticed how he glanced away and hesitated. "As for why Fudge is after Dumbledore, it is simply because he fears Dumbledore is after his job. Accepting Voldemort's return would mean that the Ministry would face troubles like there haven't been in around fourteen years. This could easily lead to his demise as Minister of Magic if he is unfit to handle it. That's why he thinks this is all an attempt from Dumbledore's part to overthrow him. "

"But, that's preposterous!" Harry cried out. "Dumbledore doesn't want to be Minister of Magic!"

"I agree. But Fudge's mind has been overcome with fear, and people aren't known to think straight when overcome by fear. Fudge only became Minister because Dumbledore rejected the offer, and Fudge liked it. But he stills remembers just how popular Dumbledore was, which frightens him."

Zidane nodded to himself, but then soon tuned out the rest of the conversation since it was all things he already knew. His attention was brought back however when Sirius let his mouth slip. Sure he was all for the kid knowing, but Dumbledore specifically told them to keep this information a secret. And since Dumbledore was his 'employer' he had been forced to accept it as well, though he didn't exactly agree with the man.

"Like what kind of weapon? Something worse than the killing curse?"

"That's enough!" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked after coming back from upstairs and gave Sirius a pointed look. "I want all of you in bed now! You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."

"Why not? I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight." Harry said and Zidane could see the figurative flames in his eyes.

"No. The Order is only compromised of overage wizards. Wizards who have _left school_. There are dangers involved of which you have no idea about. I think Molly's right, Sirius, we've said enough." This time it was Lupin who spoke.

Mrs. Weasley then dragged everyone upstairs with an iron grip. Harry seemed to resist but then wisely gave up and opted to avoid angering the already furious motherly witch. After the door slammed and they were gone out of hearing range, Zidane then decided to take his hood off, revealing his blonde hair and a bemused expression.

"Well that went well." The genome said sarcastically. "And what was that about? The Order is only compromised of overage wizards?"

Remus rolled his eyes as he heard the blonde say the last with a goofy impersonation of his voice. Sirius of course, being who he is, laughed his heart out.

"Good one!" Sirius said, wiping an invisible tear.

"I had to say something believable. Besides, you're a special case." The ill-looking man said in defense.

"Still, for a moment during the meeting I thought Mrs. Weasley would kill Dumbledore with one of her glares. She obviously doesn't approve of me being in the Order."

"That's mum for you. Should've seen her when I decided to grow my hair out." Bill said with a laugh just as Mrs. Weasley appeared through the door. How did the saying go? Think of the devil and he will appear? Sounds about right.

"Just what do you think you were doing? The one thing Dumbledore told us to keep secret and you let it slip!" Mrs. Weasley said, her wrath obviously directed at Sirius.

"Harry has the right-" Sirius was going to begin, but he was interrupted by Zidane.

"Mrs. Weasley, I know you worry about Harry, but from what I've heard about him and what I saw tonight, even if Sirius almost let it slip, Harry will likely find out about it sooner or later. He won't simply stand down either. He has been the only one to ever defeat Voldemort, and now that he is back, Harry sees it as his personal battle. And as much as you may try to stop it, Voldemort will likely come after him again."

Mrs. Weasley was left sputtering but then regained her voice. "You, young man, shouldn't even be in the Order! Human or non-human, you are still a child! Just because Albus allows it, doesn't mean I should too. Aren't you parents worried?"

Zidane felt like rolling his eyes. Had this woman known just how many 'adult' things he had done in his life, she wouldn't be pestering him like this. The blonde just wasn't used to being mothered. Growing up he never had a mother figure, the closest thing was the pickle lady in Lindblum who would occasionally give them pickles as treats, that was it, end of story. He had always been pretty independent. He didn't even think he had a mother, unless Garland counted, and that image was just _disturbing_.

'_I'm not a damn brat!'_ Zidane wanted to shout, but the woman had been awfully nice to him so maybe if he tried explaining it to her calmly. Maybe that would be best.

"Mrs. Weasley, I may still be sixteen, and I appreciate your concern, really, but I've already been in wars and am no stranger to fighting. From where I'm from, I'm not considered a child. As for my parents, that isn't a problem since I don't really have any. The closest thing I have to one is the man that raised me and I don't live with him anymore."

The Weasley matriarch was taken aback, not really expecting that sort of answer. Zidane saw the look of pity that crossed her face, and suddenly her tone softened and he had the feeling she wanted to adopt him into her, already large, family. While touching, it wasn't really something he felt comfortable with.

Still, he couldn't exactly blame a mother for wanting to protect her children.

"I'm sorry dear, I-I had no idea." She suddenly looked ashamed for probably 'bringing up bad memories'. "Will you be staying with us? I can always prepare an extra bed if you'd like, it's really not any trouble for us."

"No, thanks a lot, but I'll be staying at Hogwarts. Dumbledore already set up some tutoring lessons for me. And we really should be going right, Tonks?" The teen said politely. At least he'd managed to win her over. He may be a hero and an experienced fighter, but that didn't mean he'd want to be on the receiving end of her glare.

Tonks nodded, suddenly remembering her duty of taking Zidane back.

"Right, goodnight Molly."

He said his goodbyes and pulled his hood back on, leaving the Kitchen and then number twelve altogether. His mind still over today's events.

'_That was…interesting.'_

**To be continued…**

…..

**A/N:** First of all, I understand that the Harry POVS can be kind of tiring since most of you have probably read a similar plot in the book/movie/hundreds of other fics on the site. It is unfortunately a necessary evil which is why I tried to play a bit by switching between the Zidane POV and the Harry POV. It's hard to write a fic without falling back to the original works, especially concerning the plot, but yeah, I'll try to make it less obnoxious.

See you guys next week!


	7. Chapter 7: Nightmare on Number 12

**Notes:** I'm updating this fic along with a correction of last chapter, since there were a few mistakes that escaped screening (thanks again, Dark-heika). I am going on another trip out of town tomorrow, so I decided to update now while I still can.

As always thanks to everyone that has added this fic to their lists and feedback is always welcome.

**Chapter 7: Nightmare on Number 12 Grimmauld Place**

...

The next few days were long and tedious for Harry. Rather than cleaning up, it felt more like they were raging war against the house while the house put up quite a decent fight. And not only did they have to deal with pests and other nasty creatures, but also several hostile pieces of furniture, artifacts that were most likely dark in nature, traps set up by Sirius's lovely mother (like that biting silver box that contained wartpowder), and of course, Kreacher. Said house elf would constantly sneak where ever they were cleaning, and try to salvage anything he could. It was unfortunate Sirius couldn't get rid of him, since the old deranged house elf was really starting to get on everybody's nerves with his constant poorly concealed insults. Well, everyone except Hermione who pitied the creature.

Their only real consolation was that Marcus's spell was so effective that Mrs. Black had yet to make another sound.

Harry barely listened as Mrs. Weasley instructed them on using Doxycide to take care of the Doxy infested curtains and warned them against their poisonous bite. His mind was entirely somewhere else. He kept on thinking about what Voldemort could possibly be planning, what the Order was hiding, his hearing on the 12th of August, and what lied under the hood of a certain mysterious Order member. Even in his dreams he kept on thinking about it. Last night's dream was the most bizarre until now. Hagrid was teaching a lesson on weapons when Crescent interrupted the lesson, knife in hand, and pulled off his hood revealing the pale red eyed complexion of Voldemort who then demanded them to give him the weapon they had just fed.

Harry shook his head as Mrs. Weasley told them to get ready to squirt before covering her nose and mouth in a scarf, and urging them to do the same. At her signal, they squirted the curtains with the black liquid and hoards of the creatures came out. Doxies were small demonic looking fairies with black fur, insect-like wings, two pairs of arms and pointy venom filled teeth. In other words, they were not the most appealing of creatures.

"What are Skiving Snackboxes?" Harry asked in a low voice after hearing that the twins were going to take some doxies to test their poison.

"Range of sweets to make you ill. Not seriously ill, mind, just ill enough to get you out of a class when you feel like it. They're double-ended, color-coded chews. If you eat the orange half of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up. The moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital wing, you swallow the purple half –" George whispered, before being interrupted by Fred.

"-which restores you to full fitness, enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your own choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom. That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway."

"Testers?" Harry whispered as to not attract Mrs. Weasley's attention.

"Us," said Fred. "We take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies - we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat-"

"So the joke shop idea is still up?" Harry said, pretending to be adjusting the nozzle of his bottle of Doxycide.

"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet." said Fred, dropping his voice even lower as Mrs. Weasley mopped her brow with her scarf before returning to the task at hand, "so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the Daily Prophet last week."

"All thanks to you, mate. But don't worry… Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the Daily Prophet anymore, 'cause of it telling lies about you and Dumbledore." George quipped.

After finishing off the doxies, listening to an argument between Mrs. Weasley and Mundungus (something to do with hiding illegal cauldrons), and also having another encounter with Kreacher. Harry finally took notice of an old tapestry titled 'The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black'. It was really a large family tree that dated back to the Middle Ages. He was surprised when Sirius told him the story of how his name was burnt out and how he was always welcome at the Potter's. He was even more surprised to see that Sirius was related to the Malfoys and that his cousin was Bellatrix Lestrange, the Death Eater that tortured Neville's parent to insanity. While Sirius stated that he did not consider any of them family, he also told him how most purebloods were related. Apparently he was also related to Tonks, and both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

The next days after that passed both quickly and too slowly. They managed to clear up the drawing room in three days time after clearing up all sorts of things. There was a music box that emitted a sickly sinister sound that made them all woozy and nearly pass out, an odd many-legged instrument that tried puncturing his skin before Sirius smashed it with a book, a silver box that contained wartpowder making the hand Sirius had stuck inside look like it was covered by a very rough-looking, ugly brown glove, an odd locket that none of them could open, a Order of Merlin, First Class that was awarded to Sirius's grandfather for 'Services to the Ministry' (in Sirius words, he just gave them lots of gold), a large gold ring with the Black family crest, and also large set of china all bearing the Black crest and motto.

As the days ticked by until his hearing, Harry found himself becoming more and more worried. The tension could be practically felt around the house. He would often find himself spending time with Buckbeak, the black hippogriff he saved from execution and who escaped with Sirius. The creature seemed just as happy to see him again, though admittedly bored of the dark house. In other words it was just like Sirius was feeling. The man had often expressed his hatred towards his family and the house where he grew up in.

He did stop thinking about the Order meetings though, at least for the moment. He could still sometimes see the members head towards the kitchen from up the stairs. More than once he had seen the mysterious Marcus appear, the darkness of his hood turning towards him eerily as if piercing through his very soul. It was extremely creepy how he always seemed to know his exact position, and how the shadows seemed to flicker strangely when he was around. It was so strange, but none of the adults seemed to think that way. They often spoke to him in warm friendly tones that were more than just polite and didn't make sense. He hadn't even heard him speak, though he assumed he did during meetings. He had to communicate _somehow_. The only time he'd seen him outside the meetings was when he found the man browsing through the Black library with Sirius. The other time he had ever seen the hooded man was when he saw him calmly leave the room where Buckbeak was. He either had some experience with dangerous creatures or was just incapable of feeling intimidated.

That same night he dreamt of Care of Magical Creatures, only this time it was Marcus teaching it, who then lowered his hood and revealed the featureless face of a Dementor, its hole for a mouth giving rattling breaths and his presence chilling him to the bone.

The day of his hearing seemed to have come a fews days too early for him. He tried forcing some food down his throat while Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks tried to sooth his nerves. At the same time, Mrs. Weasley fumbled over his unruly hair in order to create a first good impression on the Wizengamot. He left with an oddly dressed Mr. Weasley via 'Muggle' means, arriving deep in the heart of London. Needless to say, Mr. Weasley was having a field day.

They finally reached a shabby old red telephone booth, which turned out to be the visitor's entrance to the Ministry. After giving their names and visiting purpose, two silver badges containing their information appeared, and then the phone booth sank deeply into the ground. In the end, they were led to a magnificent hall with golden changing symbols, dark and shiny wooden wall panels, and a peacock blue ceiling marked with several golden symbols. The hall led to a large fountain with an equally large golden statue of a wizard and a witch, with also a goblin, a house elf, and a centaur looking up adoringly to the wizard and the witch. Jets of water flew out from the wizard and witches' wands, while those same jets flew out from the goblin's hat, the house elf's ears and the centaurs strung arrow. As he passed the fountain he saw it was called 'The Fountain of Magical Brethren' and he promised himself to throw ten galleons if he managed to make it out of the hearing with his wand intact.

They joined the throngs of people past some golden gates where they went inside some elevators towards the second level. There, Harry got a look at the Auror's Department where they found Kingsley, before stepping into Mr. Weasley's small office. It was all short lived however when they were told the time of the hearing was changed. In fact, they were about five minutes late. When they entered courtroom number ten, Harry felt like his heart would beat out of his chest. Inside he sat down at the heavily chained chair and looked up to see that all the wizards of the Wizengamot were already assembled. There were at least fifty of them all looking down at him wearing plum colored robes with an intricate silver 'W' of the left side of their chests. A square-jawed, monocle wearing witch with short gray hair sat on Fudge's left, while another witch sat on his right, but she was so much further back, that he was unable see her face. In the front row was none other than Percy who made no sign of recognizing him at all.

"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August." The portly minister began. "Into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatious Weasley."

"Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Said a quiet voice from behind him.

Harry turned around so fast his neck cricked. Standing there in his midnight-blue robes was Dumbledore. Suddenly it was like he had forgotten all his anger at the man during the last few weeks, and instead he was filled with hope. With Dumbledore there he would surely win, even if the old man wasn't even making eye contact with him. Dumbledore explained then that by 'a happy mistake' he was able to make it in time, and well, Fudge looked astonished and somewhat furious. There were similar responds within the Wizengamot, while some looked surprised and even fearful, there were some that were clearly happy to see the man. Dumbledore summoned a squashy chintz armchair and sat while Fudge continued the proceedings.

"The charges against the accused are as follows: That he knowingly and in full awareness of the illegality of his action, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a muggle." Fudge said accusingly.

"You are Harry James Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge said while glaring at him from over the parchment he was reading.

"Yes." He answered.

"And you did receive an official warning from the Ministry three years ago, did you not?"

"Yes but-"

"And you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?"

"Yes, but -"

"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?"

"Yes but-" Obviously they weren't going to even let him explain himself.

Then the witch with a monocle asked him about his corporeal Patronus being clearly impressed that he could do it at such a young age. Fudge snapped out saying that whether it was impressive or not, it was still breaking the rules. When Harry finally managed to explain that it was because of the Dementors many went quiet. Fudge gave a small laugh like it was a joke. He didn't believe him at all, saying it was all a giant lie. He said Dementors were under Ministry control and that without a witness there was no way of confirming such story. Harry could almost feel his blood boil with anger. Thankfully, and much to Fudge's chagrin, Dumbledore was already many steps ahead of him and brought Mrs. Figg to come and testify for him. Though she was obviously nervous at first, in the end she did say exactly what she needed to, after describing the effects of a Dementor attack, it seemed she had convinced a few witches and wizards. At least, Madam Bone seemed to believe them.

When Fudge continued to deny that such an attack could happen because of the absolute control the Ministry had, Dumbledore simply stated that somebody had ordered it. It was then that Harry finally got a look at the witch that sat to Fudge's right. She was a short and squat woman, with a short flabby neck, a broad pale face, and large round and slightly bulging eyes that reminded Harry of a nasty looking toad. Even the black bow she wore on her head looked like a giant juicy fly that was about to be devoured by the toad-like woman.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," she said with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever. "So silly of me. But it sounded for a teensy moment as though you were suggesting that the Ministry of Magic had ordered an attack on this boy!" She gave a flimsy little laugh that seriously creeped him out.

"If it is true that the Dementors are taking orders only from the Ministry of Magic, and it is also true that two Dementors attacked Harry and his cousin a week ago, then it follows logically that somebody at the Ministry might have ordered the attacks." said Dumbledore politely. "Of course, these particular Dementors may have been outside Ministry control -"

"There are no Dementors outside Ministry control!" Fudge snapped, his reign over his anger lost.

"Then undoubtedly the Ministry will be making a full inquiry into why two Dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization."

"It is not for you to decide what the Ministry of Magic does or does not do, Dumbledore!"

"Of course it isn't. I was merely expressing my confidence that this matter will not go uninvestigated." Dumbledore said calmly. If he was trying to purposely anger Fudge then he was doing a fantastic job at it.

The argument carried on, Fudge's argument turning quite…unprofessional. He started spewing out that he was a delusional liar, that there being a Dementor present didn't change things and that he had previous records of doing underage magic. That however, didn't matter. Dumbledore made it clear that it did matter if he was under attack since clause seven stated that magic was allowed in life-endangering situations. As for his previous record, he could easily say that he was cleared of all charges, therefore turning Fudge's argument invalid. Not that the incident that was mentioned was really his fault, it had all been Dobby. Dumbledore even said he could summon the house elf to testify. It didn't matter, it was clear that Fudge was losing. Had he not hated the Minister so much at the moment he would have thought it was pretty sad.

"I - not - I haven't got time to listen to house-elves! Anyway, that's not the only - he blew up his aunt, for God's sake!" Fudge shouted, banging his fist on the judge's bench and knocking down a bottle of ink.

"And you very kindly did not press charges on that occasion, accepting, I presume, that even the best wizards cannot always control their emotions." Dumbledore said calmly as Fudge attempted to scrub the ink off his notes.

"And I haven't even started on what he gets up to at school."

"But, as the Ministry has no authority to punish Hogwarts students for misdemeanors at school, Harry's behavior there is not relevant to this hearing." said Dumbledore, as politely as ever, but now with a suggestion of coolness behind his words.

"Oho!" said Fudge. "Not our business what he does at school, eh? You think so?"

"The Ministry does not have the power to expel Hogwarts students, Cornelius, as I reminded you on the night of the second of August, nor does it have the right to confiscate wands until charges have been successfully proven; again, as I reminded you that very night. In your admirable haste to ensure that the law is upheld, you appear, inadvertently I am sure, to have overlooked a few laws yourself."

Harry had to resist the urge to scoff, despite being the bloody Minister of Magic, Fudge seemed to know little about the law. Or at least he only cared in the bits that would help him.

"Laws can be changed!" Fudge said angrily, his whole face was as red as a ripe tomato.

"Of course they can." said Dumbledore, inclining his head. "And you certainly seem to be making many changes, Cornelius. Why, in the few short weeks since I was asked to leave the Wizengamot, it has already become the practice to hold a full criminal trial to deal with a simple matter of underage magic!"

Harry saw many of the old wizards shift uneasily. They were likely ashamed and for good reason, since according to Dumbledore, a criminal trial for this kind of thing was more than overkill.

'Those in favor of clearing the witness of all charges?" This time it was madam Bones who spoke.

This was it, the moment of truth. Harry felt his stomach clench. He had barely spoken in the trial, maybe if he had told them more details about the attack…but it was too late now. Harry saw some people raise their hands, including Madam Bones. He felt a huge weight lifted when he saw they were more than half.

"And those in favour of conviction?" Madam Bones continued.

Fudge quickly raised his hand and so did about half a dozen others, including the ugly toad-like witch. Fudge scowled when he counted the hand, but he couldn't do anything since his hands were practically tied.

"Very well, very well… cleared of all charges."

Harry sighed in relief and almost felt as light as a feather. He was free, he was going to go back to Hogwarts! The only thing that made it better was encountering Lucius Malfoy on the way and finding out from Mr. Weasley that the man had suddenly gone mute. Even now he had to communicate through writing.

Now he would really make sure he paid the fountain those ten galleons.

….

Zidane was happy that Harry had gotten off the hook. He would have gone along, but going to the Ministry at the moment was much like heading straight to the dragon's mouth. In his mind he thought back of all the trials he had been in, which were quite the few actually. There were at least a dozen of them, he was lucky that he usually got off for being underage. It was either that or because of Tantalus's connections to the Regent Cid. But unlike Harry who had done nothing wrong, he really was guilty for the stuff he was convicted for. Usually it was theft, though on some odd occasions it was destruction of private property and/or vandalism.

'_Now if only the twins could stop that.'_

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF!"

It really was a wonder how the house's whole atmosphere seemed to lighten. Despite the musty air and dust, he felt like he could finally breathe in here. Still, he noticed that not everybody was as happy. And if he hadn't known better, he would have thought that Sirius wanted Harry to get expelled, but his problem was quite understandable. Harry was going to Hogwarts, leaving him behind in the process. The man was just lonely. So Zidane made sure to spend some time with the man who usually spent his time locked up in the room where Buckbeak was. Surprisingly the creature didn't mind him, he was very wary of him at first, but then after getting to know him, he had opened up too. But then again, something similar happened with the rest of the Order. He was still subject to very particular gazes from the wizards and witches, and though they didn't treat him like much of an outsider anymore, they still didn't treat him much like a fellow Order member. Well, Mrs. Weasley didn't either, but mostly because she still saw him as a kid.

Sirius was actually one of the first that opened up to him. He was very happy with him for shutting up his mom's portrait. After that, they just seemed to get closer. They both found that they had things in common, they were both convicted felons, they both liked participating in the occasional mischief, and they both had a certain degree of hatred for their families, more specifically their parents, or in Zidane's case, creator.

He had also gotten quite close to Remus. After going over some books that mentioned wand bans, and also a book about dark creatures that mentioned werewolves, it didn't take long for Zidane to connect the dots. Though he didn't really mind, it wasn't like Remus liked it either. Though Remus was often busy, he did come over to visit Sirius and they would usually tell him of some stories from back in their school days when they were part of the Marauders. He explained how James (Harry's father), Sirius, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, who later betrayed them, were part of the group, and how they used codenames based on the name of the animal they transformed in. They even mentioned some secret passages in Hogwarts which would prove quite…useful in the future. In turn, Zidane told the men a bit about Gaia. They, along with Bill, were the only people so far that knew he was engaged. He could still remember the look on their faces.

"_So who is this Fleur I keep hearing about?" Zidane asked Bill. Him, Bill, Sirius, and Remus were all sitting down right before a meeting._

"_Oh she is just a bit of a special friend of mine. She graduated last year and now she is working here to improve her English." Bill said actually turning a bit red, well redder._

"_So are you giving her personal lessons?" Sirius asked with a suggestive wag of his eye brows before bursting into a bark-like laughter._

"_I heard a bit about her from Harry, but what is she like? She is part Veela right?" Remus asked and Bill nodded, his hands going for his wallet for a picture. The other three males crowded around to take a look and when they did look at the moving photo, Zidane let out a whistle, the other two males nodded._

"_I really do like her, and the feeling's mutual. It's not just because she is part Veela though, she seems to find it slightly annoying how men get when they see her. We've been going out ever since the holidays started, and were thinking about taking it further." Bill said._

"_That's great to hear!" Remus said with a smile._

"_Yeah, I doubt she was a champion just for nothing." Sirius said._

"_So you are going to propose to her then?" Zidane asked with his tail swaying side to side with amusement. _

"_Well, we want to take it easy, and I still haven't even met her parents, but yeah, eventually we do want to get married." Bill said._

"_Hmmm, yeah that would be best, especially with the war at hand. In my case, I had to wait until the war was over." Zidane said with a sheepish smile, while all the other males suddenly stopped to stare at him._

"_Wait did you just say what I think you said?" Lupin asked, blinking as if he heard wrong._

"_What? About the war?" The blonde asked._

"_No. Well, yes, but-" The werewolf began but was interrupted._

"_Bloody hell, you're married?!" Bill asked in shock._

"_But, you're sixteen, aren't you a little too young for that?" Remus asked also taken aback._

"_Actually, I am engaged. As for age I don't really think it matters, she is sixteen too. I am considered a war hero, and well, they've actually been pestering me to produce heirs. So yeah…"_

"_Wait heirs?! Who the bloody hell are you engaged to?!" Sirius sputtered as if he had just remembered how to work his mouth._

"_Queen Garnet of Alexandria, but I called her Dagger." Zidane said with a grin._

"_WHAT?!" The three men cried out in unison._

"_How did you even manage to do that?! I know you are supposed to be a war hero, but still, isn't she royalty? Doesn't that make you royalty as well?" Bill asked._

"_Well we sorta me__t__ when me and the group I was in came for her and…well we kidnapped her, but it was for her own good. We just kinda fell for each other afterwards while we were fighting in the war. But yeah, I guess that does sorta make me royalty." Zidane said and the other males were in shock. They just couldn't imagine that ever happening._

_After a while it was Remus who broke the silence._

"_I don't mean to be rude by asking this, but is she one too? Like, is she also a -how did you say it?- genome?" _

"_Nope, she is actually a summoner, one of the last two. They are like regular humans, except they are born with a small horn on their heads, but they had Dagger's removed when she was a kid." Zidane said while pointing his index finger around his forehead as if to demonstrate. There was more stunned silence. It was Sirius who broke the silence this time._

"_So let me get this straight. You are engaged at sixteen years of age, to a sixteen year old queen, who is also not even your species, which you first met when you __kidnapped__ her, and yet you both fell for each other while fighting in a war?"_

"_Yup, that sounds about right."_

"_Bloody hell."_

Now that Zidane thought about it, his situation was very unlikely. But then again, many things in his life were unlikely. For starters, what were the chances of being created by an evil android from another world to be an angel of death? And what Remus asked had also been bothering him from long before. He knew he wasn't human, he wasn't even sure if he could actually have kids with Dagger. He obviously had the parts for it. But if they did have kids, what would they even look like? Would they have tails too? And what about from Dagger's side, would they have horns? If they did, how would they explain that? Only a handful of people knew that Dagger was adopted into the royal line. It could prove quite a scandal to find out that the queen of Alexandria wasn't the queen at all. Personally, he didn't really care if they had horny, tailed children, as long as they were happy, then it was fine by him.

Zidane was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a tap on the window. To his surprise it was an owl carrying several letters.

'_Must be from Dumbles.'_

Looking at each letter, he saw that they were for the teens while one was for him. He pocketed the letter that was for him since he was already told he would get the list of materials he'd need for school. He would leave later for Diagon Alley with Mrs. Weasley to get the things. That was because he had to go there personally to get a school uniform. The very idea of having to wear a uniform made his skin crawl and the hairs on his tail stand on end.

He decided he might as well deliver the rest of the letters. He went upstairs to the room that Hermione and Ginny shared. He was tempted to enter silently out of habit, but forced himself to knock politely. They were ladies, after all.

"Come in." Hermione seemed to call, and he took that as cue to enter.

The two girls looked shocked that he was the one that entered their rooms. They probably expected Ron , Harry, Mrs. Weasley, or really anyone else. He even detected a bit of fear from the two, but it was quick, and quickly replaced by nervousness. He found it so amusing how most of the teens seemed to stiffen at the sight of him. Even the twins couldn't prank him, mostly because he was a thief and a master of underhanded tricks, so he didn't fall for that stuff so easily.

Zidane didn't say anything, because he was still in-character and doing so would completely ruin his mission. Instead, he looked through the mail and handed each girl their respective envelope, noticing how Hermione's was slightly heavier. They awkwardly thanked him, and then he left to find the guys.

He found Ron first, and nearly chuckled when the redhead went pale for a moment. It was even funnier since Ron practically towered over him. He silently handed Ron the rest of the letters and decided to spare him of any more embarrassment. With a swish of his cloak he left the speechless Redhead behind.

…

Harry was handed his letter by a very pale Ron and notice him go even paler when he opened his.

"What's up with you Ron?" asked Fred.

Ron did not answer since was standing very still with his mouth slightly open, gaping at his letter from Hogwarts.

"What's the matter?" said Fred impatiently, moving around Ron to look over his shoulder at the parchment. Fred's mouth fell open, too. "Prefect? PREFECT?"

George leapt forwards, seized the envelope in Ron's other hand, and turned it upside-down. Harry saw something scarlet and gold fall into George's palm.

"No way." said George in a hushed voice.

"There's been a mistake." said Fred, snatching the letter out of Ron's grasp and holding it up to the light as though checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect." The flabbergasted twins turned to Harry.

"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" said George indignantly.

"Winning the Triwizard Tournament and everything!" said Fred.

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him." said George to Fred.

"Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least one of you's got their priorities right." said Fred slowly and then clapped harry on the back.

"Prefect… ickle Ronnie the Prefect."

"Mom's going to be revolting."

They were right. Hermione was really just surprised, and thought Harry was made prefect like her. Mrs. Weasley practically shrieked when she realized it. Apparently she hadn't expected it either. She promised to get Ron a new broom to award him when she went to buy their things in Diagon Alley. Later that evening they would have a feast to celebrate the two new Gryffindor prefects.

….

CONGRATULATIONS

RON AND HERMIONE

NEW PREFECTS

Zidane smiled after finding out that Harry had gotten over his slight jealousy over Ron for the whole prefect thing. He didn't think Ron would be appointed one, but at the same time he didn't care. He had the feeling Dumbledore did it to boost Ron's morale, and so that Harry didn't have to worry over so much this year. Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, Mundungus, Remus, and Bill (besides the current residents of number twelve) all showed it to the small dinner that was held in celebration. Mrs. Weasley asked Moody something about a creature in a drawer upstairs, while the others sat down and started talking to each other. Ron was constantly talking about his new broom, which Zidane had already seen since he actually went with Mrs. Weasley when she got it. Tonks started talking about how she never got the badge herself, Lupin was the only one of the Marauders who got the badge, but it was really more because Dumbledore though he would have more control over his prankster friends. He noticed how Harry looked a bit more relieved when he heard his father didn't make prefect either.

The blonde then sat next to Bill, thinking how funny it was that Mrs. Weasely was urging the boy to cut his hair. She had tried doing the same with him, but thankfully she had to keep it to herself while the other teens were in the room. When it was just the Order, he was Zidane, when the teens were present, he instantly turned into 'Marcus'.

The party ended after a while, and though it was nice, it still didn't beat the rowdy tavern celebration he used to crash back in Lindblum. Of course, the Order members wouldn't allow him to drink while here. He briefly wondered if maybe he could smuggle in a few dozen or so drinks for the school year. There was just no way in hell he would last that long without it. He wasn't an alcoholic or anything, it was just that drinking helped him relieve stress and it was sort of nostalgic 's just how he dealt with it. And not only had he been steadily getting more homesick each day, but spending _months_ in a school filled of _children_, was bound to drive him insane.

Yes, Zidane was still sixteen, almost seventeen years old, but he didn't consider himself a kid. He was a man. Sure he looked young, but he had stolen and killed to survive, only in self-defense mind you, but he'd still taken lives before. He had travelled the world and helped win wars. He had gone on adventures and found amazing treasures. He was already engaged and due to be a king. Hell, he had even been in many intimate relationships with several women, something not many men could boast about. In short, he had already made his mark on the world at an age where most people here were still at school. The only exception being Harry, but he was a pretty exceptional case in this world.

The blonde watched as Moody sniffed a chicken leg with what remained of his nose. Since he obviously didn't smell any poisons, he took a large savage bite out of it. Kingsley and Remus were talking about Harry not being made a prefect, without realizing that said boy was actually listening in to the conversation. Meanwhile Fred and George were buying something that was probably very illegal from Mundungus. He just shook his head at that. Mundungus was the reason thieves had such a bad reputation. Mrs. Weasley then said she would check in for the night after taking care of something called a 'boggart'. Zidane had really no idea what it meant, but the term seemed slightly familiar, he knew he must have heared it _somewhere_. Harry was then called by Moody who showed him what appeared to be an old photograph. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but while Moody looked like he was telling a touching anecdote, Harry looked a bit uncomfortable, and maybe even a bit queasy. As Sirius came around to see what that was about, Harry seemed to excuse himself and quickly head upstairs. This made Zidane remember something. He had totally forgotten to ask Mrs. Weasley for the trunk he bought today for his luggage, even though his pouch was safer and more convenient, trunks were less likely to grab everyone's attention since they were what students commonly used. He headed up stairs to the drawing room where Mrs. Weasley said she would be. What he found there was something he would never forget.

….

Harry was looking down at a sobbing Mrs. Weasley as she fruitlessly tried to vanquish the Boggart. First it turned into a dead Ron, after each failed attempt there would be a crack and it would turn into someone else.

"No!" Mrs. Weasley moaned. "No…_riddiculus! Riddiculus! RIDDICULUS_!"

_Crack_. Dead twins. _Crack_. Dead Percy. _Crack_. Dead Harry.

"Mrs. Weasley just get out of here-" Harry was going to finish but was interrupted as a shadow blurred past him. The first thing that came to his mind was a Dementor and he stiffened, but then he realized it was Marcus. He hadn't even heard the man come in, but the next thing he knew was that he had a hand on a sobbing Mrs. Weasley in what had to be a comforting way, completely ignoring the Boggart that was now behind him.

"THE BOGGART'S BEHIND YOU WATCH OUT!" Harry cried out. But it was too late, Harry watched with morbid fascination as darkness emanated from the Boggart which began to shift and change its surroundings. He was speechless as the floor of the drawing room was suddenly overcome with a thick darkness. A rickety long winding staircase appeared leading to a raised, cruel looking platform like it was some kind of observatory. An odd pile of something was at the bottom of the stairs, right below the raised platform. And though the room was bathed in darkness at first, a strange light appeared from above the created scene and bathed everything in a deep red color, making it all seem as if it was bathed in fresh blood. And finally at the top of the platform, giving its back to everyone like an actor in an eerie play, was a black clad figure holding something quite large.

Harry couldn't even seem to move or think. He had NEVER seen such a reaction to a Boggart, and though he had no idea what Marcus's fears were, this scene alone was enough to leave him paralyzed and powerless to look away, like a deer caught in the headlights. Mrs. Weasley was still sobbing, but he could tell she was just as paralyzed in fear as him. The same seemed to happen to Marcus as he turned around after hearing his call. But then things seemed to get much worse.

The moment Marcus turned around he seemed to stiffen like a board. At the same time, the figure at the top turned to look at Marcus, and even Harry felt a deep rooted fear overcome him. It was an old man with a beard as long as Dumbledore's, only this man had the coldest most lifeless eyes he had ever seen. Just looking at the dead twin pools of darkness made him feel like he was slowly drowning in despair. It made Voldemort's evil crimson gaze pale in comparison. The old man was completely clad in black armor and wore a black cape, but the most shocking part was the red glowing hole where a person's heart would normally be. The next thing he saw, made Harry almost want to throw up.

The man took the thing he was carrying and held it over so that Marcus could get a clear view. It was a pale girl, about his age, with long brown hair and dead looking brown eyes. She was clad in a bloodstained orange form fitting outfit with an equally stained white cotton shirt underneath. She hung from the old man's grip like a lifeless doll and when the man released her and she dropped into the pile below, that's when Harry realized just what the pile was. It was a pile of lifeless bodies.

They were all very different. Some of them didn't even look human. He saw a man clad in rusty bloodstained armor, at least two redheads, a small boy whose face was concealed by a large stitched wizard hat, a large man, a little girl with a torn yellow ribbon, a long haired figure with blood stained pale hair, a red clad figure that could hardly be considered human, and the list just went on. All dead, all covered in blood and all likely murdered by the old man.

Harry turned to look at Marcus and though he couldn't see his face, he could clearly see that he was on his knees and his hands were shaking. He seemed to reach for something within his cloak and he saw two long slightly crooked, though still deadly-looking knifes appear instead of a wand. He got up slowly and tightened his grip on each weapon, even though his hands were still clearly shaking. Besides him Mrs. Weasely was pale and in shock, and seeing this, Marcus reached a glowing hand towards her despite it still being unsteady, and then Mrs. Weasley slumped on the ground.

The dark old man then said something in a sinister unforgiving voice, but he couldn't understand what he said since it sounded completely alien to him. But whatever it was, it seemed to upset Marcus since the hooded man´s only response was to grab tightly unto his weapons and bend in a crouch that suggested he was ready to physically assault his worst fear.

"What's going on?" Lupin said freezing in shock as he came through the door. Trailing behind him were Sirius and Moody who stopped right in their tracks once they entered the changed drawing room.

The old man seemed to say something else in his strange language, and this time Marcus did leap at him with a speed he didn't know was possible. His knives slashed expertly at his target's chest, sending red flying everywhere and making the scene look even more grotesque. Loud shrieks suddenly rang in the room as the staircase and the entire scene began to distort slightly. As he caught sight of the hooded man in action, Harry only then noticed the strong buzzing in the air, and the cackling bolts of blue and purple lightning that started to dance around Marcus, creating a pinkish glow around the man.

Lupin's gaze seemed to shift between Marcus, the old man, and then he seemed to notice an unconscious Mrs. Weasley on the floor. Moody and Sirius seemed to see this too and then they quickly made the connection. Before he could even react, Lupin ran towards the foreboding old man, startling Marcus who was grabbed from behind by Sirius. Moody being the one with least mobility was quick to shove Harry out the door. But before he could shut the door in his face, Harry saw that with a pop the room returned to normal and the Boggart turned into a full moon.

To be continued….

…

**A/N: I apologize about ending with a cliffhanger, but yeah, it just seemed like a good place to stop (bet most of you thought this would be a boring chapter, heh). I would also like to apologize for the Ministry part if it was too long and tedious to read, but again, it was necessary for the plot. **

**Anyways, see you guys next week!**


	8. Chapter 8: Start of Something New

**Notes:** As always thanks for everyone who has added this fic to their lists and reviewed. If you guys have any questions and concerns, then also feel free to comment. Also, since Anonymous Reviews cannot be answered normally, I will answer them in a small section t the start of every chapter in what shall henceforth be known as the Anonymous Review Corner (ARC).

…

(ARC)

To "Guest":

My job is done then. By the way, any parties related to the making of this fic will NOT be held accountable over any traumas that may or may not be a direct result of reading this fic ( just so you guys know). Thanks for Reviewing! :D

….

**Chapter 8: Start of Something New**

….

"**The red light of Terra shines among us, merge is complete, Gaia is no more."**

"**Did you honestly think you could escape your fate, my angel?"**

Zidane's head was running circles. His friends were all dead, his family was dead, even Kuja was dead, and he had been the one responsible for it. He was now truly alone, his loved ones' blood on his gloved hands.

But how?

Though panic gripped at him, a different part of him attempted to make sense of all of this. It was either that or break down. Through shaky breaths he began to reason. How could Garland be alive, and in this world no less?

Mrs. Weasley was now asleep on the ground, the shock was too much for her so he hit her with a spell. His main priority was to get Garland, for his friends and his lost comrades. He wouldn't forgive the heartless monster. This was all his fault, it just had to be. His hits were powered by fear and anger. He could feel he was on the verge of trance but that didn't matter. Garland had to die.

He was so involved in the fight he didn't notice a figure run past him and move in front of Garland. No, he had to stop him! Garland would kill him! But he couldn't because he suddenly realized that something had grabbed him from behind, using him to tensed further. In his desperation he flailed around and coiled his tail around whoever or whatever it was. Squeezing hard and hearing a pained gasp, he then felt the arms let go of him as if he was on fire. He was going to turn back towards Garland when he heard a _crack _and suddenly he was back in the drawing room instead of that dark abyss. Looking towards where the sound came from, he saw Remus and a small moon floating in front of him. With a flick of his wand and the word _'riddiculus',_ the moon disappeared in a _crack_.

He stood there in complete astonishment, feeling his daggers fall from his grasp and unto the floor with a clatter, and then his knees followed with a thump. Garland was gone. Looking behind him he saw a wheezing Sirius and then a serious looking Moody who was checking Mrs. Weasley and waving his wand over her unconscious form.

"Zidane…are you alright?" Remus asked with a soft voice while approaching him with caution, seeing as how a few pink jolts still ran across his trembling body. "That was a Boggart, it takes the form of our worst fears, what you saw was not real. It's over now."

The blonde didn't answer.

Lupin knelt down next to him and carefully slid his hood off, surprise evident on his face. Zidane's hair was slightly longer and bristled, making it look spiky in certain places, though it was still the same blonde color. His eyes however were what surprised him the most, instead of their strange unique cyan color they were now a bleeding pink, almost red color.

Sirius seemed to regain his breath and joined Lupin, but when he reached the unmoving genome he also looked shocked.

"Bloody hell."

Moody limped over to them then. "I obliviated the memory from her, it should certainly let her sleep easier tonight, she's asleep now anyways. But I have to admit, that's one of the bloodiest worst reactions I've ever seen to a boggart. I should hope the kid's okay after that. How is he Remus."

"I think he's still in shock, but there's more, look." Lupin said letting Moody look at the genome.

"That's not all of it, he nearly broke a few ribs when he squeezed me with his tail, and when I grabbed him I felt like I was getting shocked, I think I got some burns from it too." Sirius said, showing his reddened hands.

"Let me try something." Moody said, pointing his wand at the blonde. The blonde didn't even react to that gesture.. "_Rennervate_."

The genome's body seemed to twitch, then Zidane closed his eyes and when he opened then again they were focused on the three men before him, but still that same odd color. He was pale and slightly green to the face, almost like he just wanted to throw up. His brow was covered in cold sweat and his skin was cold and clammy. He looked almost like a muggle that had just seen a ghost.

"Zidane, listen to me, that wasn't real. Whoever that man was, he is gone. It was all a trick." Lupin said, gently shaking the boy.

To his and everyone's relief, the boy reacted this time. Zidane closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"S-so it wasn't real…then is everyone okay?" He said in a shaky voice, and his stomach was doing flips when he thought about the image of his friends' mangled bodies. Slowly, bit by bit he began composing himself.

'_It had to be fake, even though it felt so real, Vivi and Kuja… they are already gone. Garland is not coming back. Dagger and the others are fine, and I'm not alone.'_

"No, everything was just a clever illusion." Remus assured him once again and Zidane let out a sigh of relief.

The three males looked in fascination as Zidane's bristled hair return to normal, even appearing to go back to its normal length. The occasional jolts of electricity stopped running and crackling through his body, and when Zidane finally opened his eyes, they were back to that strange blue-green color if his.

'_Oh thank Eidolons!'_

"Are you sure you are okay? You really had us worried there." Sirius said,still unsure of what just happened. "I mean, your eyes were pink just seconds ago and you nearly roasted me when I tried to hold you back from the old bloke, what was that about anyways?"

Remus looked at Sirius and gave him a reprimanding look. Asking something like that after experiencing such trauma was not the brightest move. Moody on the other hand didn't seem to care, but given his blunt personality, it wasn't unexpected. "Yes, we would like to know, but if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. We won't force you."

"I don't know, I think we all deserve an explanation, Tribal." Moody spoke, crossing his arms.

Zidane gave the man a look, before slowly getting up. "I 'd rather not talk about this if you don't mind. It's a bit of a touchy subject for me."

"Don't particularly care it it's a sob story, what I'd like to know is whether this could prove dangerous later on." Moody said, signally to all of him.

The teen sighed.

"It's …something of a special ability of mine which is triggered by strong emotions. It'll be fine, it's happened before." Zidane said before looking at Sirius. "I'm sorry for hurting you, though. Let me at least take care of that."

The others nodded with the explanation, though Moody's eye seemed to inspect every square inch of Zidane. Sirius showed him his hands, and after a few quick cures, the slightly burnt skin peeled off to reveal new unmarred skin underneath.

"I think it would be best for you to sleep here tonight. We can wake you up when morning comes to go King's Cross." Lupin said, and Zidane who was both physically and mentally exhausted didn't find the energy to protest.

The blonde pulled his hood on, and after explaining what he did to Mrs. Weasley, she was levitated up to her room while he was led to one of the guest rooms where he found his new trunk. Moody helped pack his clothes and school supplies, while everything else stayed with him in his pouch. After bidding everyone a good night, he locked the door behind him and plopped on the bed with a tired sigh.

His mind was still going over what had just taken place. He still had no idea what really happened back there, not the Boggart part, that he understood. What he still didn't get was why his trance was different. He was able to trance just fine back in Diagon Alley, but this trance seemed almost as if it were incomplete. It certainly was less powerful.

Could it be because at that time he'd been afraid? Emotions did fuel trance, so it certainly would make sense if fear was added into the equation. Rolling around on his bed, the teen just decided to leave the mystery for another day. He was far to tired to dwell on any of this, and he had a big day tomorrow.

Outside in the hall, he could hear Lupin's steps as he headed over to the room Harry shared with Ron. The Werewolf had assured him that he would have a talk with Harry.

…

Harry did not sleep well last night. Even though his talk with Lupin helped alleviate the sense of horror that he felt after seeing that Boggart, his dreams were filled to the brim with nightmares. He dreamt of his parents who wove in and out of his dream without speaking. He dreamt of Mrs. Weasley crying over Kreacher's body while Ron and Hermione stood at the sidelines wearing crowns on their head. He also dreamt of the dark corridor again, at the end of it stood Marcus, who pulled down his hood to reveal the eerie, old, heartless man, and then threw that dead, brunette girl at his feet.

Next morning he woke up to a prickling scar and a call from Ron telling him to hurry up and get dressed. Indeed that morning was riddled with chaos. Mrs. Weasley who looked fine despite what happened yesterday, was absolutely ballistic, calling for them to take their trunks downstairs and hurry up or risk missing the train.

When Fred and George charmed their trunks to hazardously fly downstairs, they almost hit Ginny and would have knocked her down two flights of stairs had it not been for Marcus who dashed in and got her out of the way in time. Harry didn't stay and instead headed to another room, since the Boggart was still fresh in his memory and he just couldn't face the hooded man today. He could still hear Mrs. Weasley's shrieks perfectly, though.

"-COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS-"

Hermione handed Hedwig over to him while she held on to a struggling Crookshanks. After shoving his snowy owl unceremoniously into her cage, and after waiting for the last member of his guard to show up, everyone, including Sirius in his huge dog form and excluding Moody and Marcus who took care of taking their luggage, left to King's Cross.

Once there, they waited for the coast to be clear before slowly sinking through the wall between platforms nine and ten. After getting through the barrier they were greeted by crowded platform and the magnificent scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Harry inhaled the familiar smell and his spirit seemed to soar. He was really going back.

"I hope they make it in time." Said a nervous sounding Mrs. Weasley to a disguised Tonks, though Harry was hardly listening.

"Nice dog Harry!" called a tall boy with dreadlocks that Harry recognized as Lee Jordan, Fred and George's partner in crime.

"Oh, there he is!" Mrs. Weasley said with relief as she spotted Moody who was hauling a trolley with everyone's trunks. Marcus was nowhere to be seen and Harry felt somewhat grateful for that. He had not told anyone about what he had seen last night, and in all honesty he wasn't really sure he wanted to, not if it meant revisiting the memory. Though he had nothing remotely resembling a friendship with Marcus, it didn't feel right to speak about the man's worst fears with other people, whatever that thing he saw yesterday was. His own mind seemed to go over what happened, but he couldn't even bring words to describe what he saw.

He shook his head and took his things from Moody, who grumbled about reporting Sturgis who had now failed to show up twice for an assignment. He then proceeded to say his goodbyes to everyone.

"Well, look after yourselves. You too, Harry, be careful." Lupin said clapping him in the back and giving him his best 'keep out of trouble' look.

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled." Moody warned. "Be careful what you put in writing, and of course always remember; CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"Quick, quick!" Mrs. Weasley led them over to where students were starting to board. "Write, be good, and if you forget anything, we'll send it over later, now hurry!"

When it was Sirius's time to say goodbye the large dog reared up on his hind legs and placed his paws on his shoulder, before Harry was pushed away.

"For heaven's sake, act more like a dog Sirius!" The Weasley matron hissed.

"See you!" Harry called from the train window and saw Sirius running after the train with his tail wagging, before disappearing after the train rounded a bend.

….

Zidane waved at everyone who was standing on the platform from a window inside the train. He left with Moody earlier, getting all his instructions on the way. If anything of urgency happened, he was supposed to either go find Dumbledore in his office, talk with one of the teachers who were also inside the Order, or use owls or floo if it came to that. Most importantly he had to keep his relationship with the Order a secret.

When he arrived he would be sorted into one of the four houses (when Zidane asked how he would be able to watch Harry from a different house, Moody just said Dumbledore had a good feeling about him) and from there he would have to try and befriend Harry. While in school, he was going to be posing as an exchange student from America, more specifically the first exchange student in Hogwarts for several hundred years. This would allow him to avoid doing any OWLS, though he still had to do assignments. He said Order-involved teachers would go easy on him, but he couldn't expect the same from the others, _especially_ the new DADA teacher.

'_The curtain raises and another act begins. I have to admit it does feel great to finally take that hood off.'_

Zidane grabbed his things, and seeing how most compartments he saw were full of people, he just headed to the back of the train. There he was surprised to find the round faced boy from the book shop. He had a trunk in one hand, and somehow managed to carry a toad _and_ an ugly looking plant that looked like a cactus, if catci were an ugly gray, had nasty pustules instead of needles, and pulsated in a foreboding matter. The boy was fiddling in front of the last compartment as if trying to muster the bravery to enter. He peeked inside and saw it was mostly empty except for a girl whose face was hidden behind an upside-down magazine.

Zidane rolled his eyes. "Hey, are you going to enter or not?"

"Oh Sorry! I-I don't really want to bother…" The boy, 'Neville' if he remembered correctly, said blushing. Now he really reminded him of Vivi.

"Hey, it's cool. I'm sure she won't mind." Zidane said, practically dragging the teen inside with him. He was far too shy for his own good.

"Excuse me, would it be okay if me and my friend sat here, would you?" The genome said, putting on his best smile.

Next to him, Neville rather surprise, probably because how he was treated by a person he didn't even know.

The girl brought down her magazine and nodded her head, revealing none other than the weird girl he met at the bookshop. This was just too much of a coincidence. Her eyes and expression were as dreamy as ever as she spoke to him. "I see the Nargles left you alone. I'm glad you decided to come to Hogwarts this year."

"Thanks." Zidane said lifting his and Neville's trunk into the luggage rack, much to Neville's shock. He was a bit surprised that the girl was able to recognize him without the cloak. "I'm glad to be here too, but I honestly didn't expect to see you guys again."

Neville looked at the strange blonde in confusion. Zidane saw the boys look and gave a crooked grin. "Aw, come on! Don't tell me you don't recognize me."

The round faced boy just looked at him like he was crazy. The blonde chuckled at his expression. "I'll give you a hint; you don't need a reason to help people."

When he said this, the boy's face lit up in recognition. "You! You're that guy who stood up for me in Flourish and Blotts!"

"Bingo, the name's Zidane Tribal." The genome said with a grin, as he shook both their hands.

"I-I'm Neville Longbottom, and um thanks again for what happened back there." Neville said softly and the blonde genome just gave a shrug.

"I'm Luna Lovegood, though most people call me Looney Lovegood because I'm strange, but I don't really mind." The strange girl said, not even looking away from her magazine, despite the handshake. The teen thought it was odd, but just brushed it off.

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys." Zidane said, finally settling down next to the window, and being mindful that his tail was out of the way. As he sat down, a sense of tiredness filled him, his lack of sleep last night had apparently caught up to him.

…

Harry trudged with Ginny to find a seat. Fred and George went to sit with Lee, while Ron and Hermione had to go to the prefect's compartment. Most if not all of the compartments were full, and those that were not, he still avoided because of the pointing and whispering of their occupants when they saw him. They were likely because of what the Daily Prophet was saying about him. In the end they reached the last compartment of the train. In it he could see his fellow Gryffindor 5th year, Neville, an odd girl that Ginny recognized as 'Looney Lovegood', a Ravenclaw in the same year as her, and finally an even stranger looking blonde that looked about their age but he was sure he had never seen before.

"Excuse me, would it be okay if we sat here?"Ginny asked and they went inside once Neville and Luna nodded. The third boy looked like he was asleep.

Harry ended up sitting right in front of Luna, sandwiched right between Neville and the strange blonde boy who was leaning his head against the window with his long bangs covering his face. Ginny ended up sitting right next to Luna.

"Hi Harry, hi Ginny." Neville greeted. They returned the greeting, and Harry found himself regretting his seating choice as Luna started at him intently, which made him notice that she hardly blinked at all.

"You're Harry Potter." She said in a dreamy voice. It was a fact, not a question, and Harry was surprised that she didn't have the typical amazed look most people got when meeting him.

"I know I am." Harry said, causing Neville to start chuckling.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Luna."

"Same here." The blonde next to him said as he stirred from his slumber and turned to him and Ginny with a sleepy grin. "Zidane Tribal, nice to meet both of you. Though I don't think I got your name, miss…"

"Ginny, Ginny Weasley." The redhead said blushing, which made some foreign feeling stir inside Harry.

"I don't think I've ever seen you before, but you look too old to be a first year." Harry said suspiciously, feeling some unexplained hostility towards the stranger.

The blonde turned to fully look at him and smiled. "You're right. I'm actually here for my 5th year. Thing is, I'm a foreign exchange student."

Now that he had a perfect look at the stranger he realized that he looked…strange, not bad strange, but just different, and for once he could see why Ginny was blushing earlier. The teen had a _very_ handsome face that looked just a tad bit effeminate. He had long blonde hair, of an almost unnatural shade of gold, held back in a ponytail with long bangs that escaped on the front, and healthy slightly-tanned skin. But the most amazing thing was his eyes. They were happy and full of mischief, but of a strange blue-green color that was nearly a piercing cyan, and which he had never seen before.

Maybe he's part Veela like Fleur…

After a visit from the food trolley, the compartment was filled with all sorts of sweets. Harry decided to get some extra Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and Cauldron Cakes for when Hermione and Ron decided to show up. Everyone else got something too, and much to his amusement, Zidane seemed keen to avoid Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs at all costs. Though he understood that maybe he had gotten a particularly nasty flavored bean in the past, he simply couldn't understand his aversion for Chocolate Frogs.

"Hey, guess what I got for my birthday!" Neville said, interrupting his thoughts. When he took a guess and said 'Remembrall', like the one he got in first year, Neville shook his head and brought out the ugliest plant he had ever seen in his life, and that included Mandrakes.

"_Mimbulus Mimbletonia_. It's really, _really_ rare. I don't even think they have this in Hogwart's greenhouses. Wait until Professor Sprout sees this. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I want to see if I can breed from it." Neville said proudly, and held it out for Zidane to see.

"Er, no thanks Neville, really. Herbology isn't really my thing. In fact, plant life seems to hate me for some reason." Zidane said, actually leaning away from the ugly plant as if it would try to strike him at any minute. Another odd quirk of the new foreign exchange student.

"Does it –er- do anything?" Harry asked uncertain.

Neville's face lit up in excitement. "Loads of things! They actually have an awesome defense mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me, I'll show you."

Harry did as told and held the toad while Neville took a quill out of his bag and closed in on the plant, eyes squinting, and tongue between teeth. Luna lowered the magazine so see what Neville was doing, while Zidane and Ginny inched forwards. Neville gave the plant a sharp prod with the quill, and dark green jets of a slimy and foul smelling substance flew out of every boil. The compartment was practically covered in the stuff. Luna was able to shield herself with the magazine, and Ginny with her arms, so they were not fully covered in the stuff like Harry and Neville were. Zidane managed to get out untouched by dodging behind Harry in the last minute and using him as a meat shield.

Neville gasped and tried to get the slime out of his eyes. He apologized and assured them that stinksap was not poisonous, but that didn't really bring Harry's spirits up because in that exact moment the door to their compartment slid open to reveal his school crush, a Ravenclaw in his same year by the name of Cho Chang. She was very pretty, with long shiny black hair, and had been his crush since last year.

"Oh… hello Harry. Um…bad time?" The girl said with a grimace as she looked over the room and the stinksap-covered occupants. Though the second she looked over a clean Zidane, her cheeks seemed to gain a blush. "Um, well just thought I'd say hello…bye then."

The girl left in a hurry and Harry wanted nothing more than for the earth to swallow him. He just couldn't be sitting with a cool group of people telling a joke when she walked in. No, he just had to be covered in stinksap and holding a toad. And what's worse, he could clearly see that she was ogling at a stinksap-free Zidane. And what was worse, she BLUSHED.

Harry couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy towards the foreign exchange student. He knew it was stupid really, the boy had really done nothing to deserve it. A quick _scourgify_ from Ginny later and everything was just like before, minus Harry's injured pride. Ron and Hermione came in afterwards, and after seeing the new faces, introductions took place. While Hermione was ecstatic to have a foreign student amongst them, Ron seemed to eye the blonde oddly.

"Isn't it great? According to 'Hogwarts a History' there haven't been any exchange students here in centuries. I'm so glad Dumbledore decided to reinstate ties with other magical communities, especially those outside of Europe. I have so many questions!" Hermione said to the blonde.

"Wow, easy there. Can the questions wait? I'm still tired from a bit of jetlag and I was hoping to get some shuteye in the ride to school." Zidane said with a smile

"Oh, of course, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said as a blush spread across her face.

Zidane settled once again against the window closing his eyes and soon his breathing evened out and his bangs fell over his face, slightly obscuring it. The golden trio began their own conversation after a while, and soon it hit the topic of the new house prefects. The new Hufflepuff prefects were Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot. Ravenclaw's new prefects were Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, the last being Ron's reluctant date to the Yule ball last year.

"And guess who is a Slytherin prefect." Ron said with his eyes closed as he took a bite of out a Chocolate Frog.

"Malfoy." Harry almost spat. Of course it had to be him, his year simply wouldn't be complete without its dosage of arrogant prats, and Malfoy always seemed to fill the quota quite nicely.

"And that complete _cow_ Pansy Parkinson. How she got to be a prefect when she is thicker than a concussed troll…"

The conversation then took an abrupt turn when he asked Luna to take a look at her magazine, 'The Quibbler'. It was…interesting, and though it was bizarre and hugely inaccurate, it was still good for laughs, especially that article about Sirius being a misunderstood singing sensation. Hermione just reacted like…well Hermione and said the magazine was full of rubbish. Which wasn't very smart of her since it appeared that Luna's father was the editor. After that, things just went downhill when the sliding door opened to reveal none other than a smug Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"What do you want?" Harry almost growled out.

"Manners Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention. You see, I , unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments." The Slytherin drawled with his pale blonde hair and pointed features so much like his father's.

"Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone." Harry replied, trying to keep his temper in check.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville laughed.

Malfoy's lips curled in a snarl. "How does it feel to be second best to Weasley, Potter?"

"Shut up!" Hermione said sharply. Harry just kept glaring at Malfoy and ignored the feeling that something brushed against his leg as the blonde besides him began to stir.

"I seem to have touched a nerve. Well you just watch yourself, Potter, because I will be _dogging_ your footsteps in case you step out of line." Malfoy said smirking and then his gaze turned towards the blonde. "I see the rumors on the train were right, so there is a new foreign exchange student coming to Hogwarts."

Harry just glared at the smug pale blonde after recovering from his shock. They knew about Sirius. But what Malfoy said next almost made him choke.

"Come now miss, you don't need to share a compartment with this filth, you are welcome to join us in our compartment." Malfoy said with a charming smile as he extended his hand towards Zidane in what had to be a 'gentlemanly' way.

Harry gaped at Malfoy, and then his gaze turned towards the other blonde who, to his surprise, was slowly getting up and heading towards a smirking Malfoy. His bangs were still obscuring his expression, while his ponytail now fell over his shoulder. Harry then had to admit that at that moment Zidane did look like a _very_ pretty girl.

Whatever Malfoy expected was not what happened next. Zidane retracted his fist slightly and then punched Malfoy right in the face. His bangs fell away from his face and Harry then saw that his eyes were practically glowing with fury, and it almost reminded him of those animal documentaries on big cats he had watched occasionally on TV.

…..

"I'M A GUY, YOU PRICK!" Zidane called out as he punched the male square in the jaw. Everyone else in the compartment looked in shock. He was soooo pissed off right now. He didn't just wake him up. He woke him up while he was dreaming about _Dagger_, a gorgeous _bikini-clad _Dagger. And the reason? He had the gall to wake him up just to flirt with him, thinking he was a _girl. _

"What the bloody hell?!" Malfoy cried out wide-eyed as he finally recovered from the hit, a bruise was already starting to form where he was hit. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind Malfoy in complete confusion as if not knowing what to do.

"I'll tell you what the bloody hell! I was trying to sleep, you bastard!" Zidane shot back. "And you should know I am not into guys!"

"H-how dare you?! Don't you have any idea who I am? I am Draco Malfoy! And it was that bloody long hair that made me think you were a damn girl!" The blonde teen said defensively though he was still blushing profusely.

"I know who you are, I just don't care, and if you have a thing against long hair, then take it up to your girly old man!" Zidane shot back before shoving the Malfoy heir out the door and slamming the sliding door in his face.

"HOW DARE YOU!? I WILL DEDUCT POINTS FOR THIS!" A furious, red, and disheveled Malfoy shouted from outside.

"I HAVEN'T BEEN SORTED YET, YOU DUMBASS!" Zidane shouted through the window, then slammed that too and flopped back down to his seat next to the window. Everyone else in the compartment, minus Luna, looked at him in awe. "What?"

"That so bloody brilliant!" Ron said in a tone of admiration.

"But you really shouldn't have done that! That could get you in some serious trouble later, not to mention Malfoy will be after you from now on." Hermione admonished him.

"Oh come off it 'Mione. Ron's right, it was amazing." Harry defended, though a look of curiosity crossed his features. "How do you know Malfoy's father?"

"I met him when I went to Diagon Alley to get my materials, he just wouldn't shut up. Like father, like son."

….

They were nearing their destination, though it was hard to tell from the moonless darkness outside the rain streaked windows. Crookshanks jumped from where Hermione was trying to get him back inside his cage, and settled on Zidane's lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said. Crookshanks usually avoided strangers.

"Nah, it's okay." The blonde assured her, and proceeded to scratch the cat behind the ear and eliciting a loud round of purrs.

They all got their black school robes from their trunks, and put them on. Hermione and Ron put their prefect badges on and then left to go supervise the rest of the students, leaving Harry in charge of Pig and Crookshanks.

"I can take that owl if you want." Luna said, and Harry thanked her and handed her Pig, just as Neville put Trevor in his pocket.

"And I guess I can take Crookshanks." The blonde exchange student said sheepishly, though the cat had become so attached to the blonde, Harry didn't really see how he was going to peel him off Zidane.

"Alright, thanks mate." Harry said and just pulled Hedwig's cage closer to him.

The five of them left the train and were greeted to the scent of fresh pines. Harry expected to hear Hagrid's familiar call for the first years to come with him, but instead he heard the brisk female call of Proffessor Grubbly-Plank.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"I don't know but we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door." Ginny said.

"Do you know where you have to go?" Neville asked Zidane who was still petting the large ginger cat.

"They told me to head with the first years. So I'll guess I'll see you guys later then." Zidane said with a grin as he walked over to the prominently chinned witch that was Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"We'd better head over to the carriages then." Ginny said.

Harry just nodded, his mind too preoccupied with finding Hermione and Ron, and finding out about Hagrid's disappearance. When they reached the station where the horse-less carriages were, Harry was just shocked to see that they were not horse-less as they usually were. Instead there were large creatures pulling them. They were like skeletal horses with black hides that clung to their bony frames; they had dragon-like heads and tails, with milky white eyes that seemed to pierce though his soul, and great leathery bat-like wings. In Harry's own opinion ,the creatures looked like something right out of a nightmare.

"Hey Harry, where's Pig?" Ron said as he walked with Hermione.

"Luna has him." Harry said as he noticed Draco pushing away some second-years just a short distance away, the bruise on his cheek very prominent against his pale complexion.

"Malfoy is being absolutely foul. I swear I am going to report him. He's only had that badge for three minutes and he is using it to bully people worse than ever…Where's Crookshanks?" Hermione asked as if suddenly realizing that her cat was gone.

"Zidane has him. Crookshanks wouldn't let go of him."

"And where is the bloke anyways?" Ron asked.

"He is going with the first-years." Harry said still gazing at the skeletal horses.

"Oh I hope he is okay, most cats don't like water." Hermione said in a worried fashion, it was custom for the first years to cross the lake on boats to get to the castle. "Well, we should hurry up and meet Zidane then. What house do you think he will be sorted in? Oh I hope it's not Slytherin."

"Don't tell me you are falling for the guy 'Mione." Ron said with a laugh while Hermione blushed.

"Of course not, he may be quite good looking, but more importantly he seems like a good person, and Crookshanks trusts him too." Hermione defended herself.

"_Quite_ good looking?" Ginny said scoffing and Hermione glared at her.

"Let's just find a carriage." Hermione said with a sigh and left with Ginny.

"What do you reckon those horses are?" Harry asked.

"What horses?"

"The ones pulling the carriages!"

"They are pulling themselves like always." Ron answered eyeing him oddly.

Then it hit him, Ron couldn't see them. Luna skipped over to them and handed Ron his owl. When they reached the carriages, Ron got in and he was about to too, when Luna suddenly called him from behind.

"It's all right. You're not going mad or anything. I can see them too. Don't worry, you are just as sane as I am." Luna said in a dreamy voice before getting in the carriage.

Felling a shiver run down his spine, Harry followed. That wasn't reassuring at all.

….

"First years this way! Wait, you're not a first year."

Zidane approached the woman. "I was told to come over here, I'm the new exchange student."

"Zidane Tribal?" The sharp looking witch said, eyeing him critically. The blonde nodded. "Right this way then, hurry up."

The genome got in the boat with the strict looking witch, while all the other smaller students boarded the other boats in groups of four per boat. The air was cold and many first-years started shivering, Zidane however was glad that he had dressed warmly for the occasion. Crookshanks seemed glad as well, and had taken to hiding in the warmest depths of his clothes, purring contently at the warmth. At one point a kid leaned in too far to look at the water, and fell in. Tentacles emerged from the water and for a moment Zidane thought they were being attacked by a Gigan Octopus, but then remembered what he heard about the friendly giant squid that lived in the lake. Surely enough, the tentacle unfolded to reveal the shivering first year that was then lowered gently into the boat.

The boat ride went without a hitch after that. And had Zidane not seen the amazing view of Hogwarts at night, he would have probably been as impressed as the kids around him. The only real difference is that he had never seen the view from the lake before. When they finally disembarked, after being led past a thick curtain of ivy and into an underground harbor that seemed to run deep into the cliff face under the castle, they were led past many stairs and finally stopped before a set of large wooden doors which Zidane recognized as the entrance to the Grand Hall. There they were greeted by the stern looking witch that was Professor McGonagall. After feeling Crookshanks wiggle from his grasp, he settled the ginger cat on the floor, and said cat meowed before heading off, possibly to get some food. The blonde knew the cat was very smart so he wasn't all that concerned.

Professor Grubbly-Plank left through the doors, leaving Professor McGonagall in charge. She began to explain to the new comers how Hogwarts worked and how they would soon be sorted into one of four houses that would be like their families during their stay. Zidane stopped paying attention after a while, McGonagall's speech becoming white noise to his ears. He was already told of this so he saw no reason to listen. It was already annoying enough to hear the hushed whispers that came from the first-years that were, no doubt, talking about him. They likely wanted to know what he was doing here. Personally, he wanted to know the same thing.

Eventually, McGonagall stopped her speech and turned on her heel, ordering everyone to be quiet and to follow her in a single file. The large oaken double doors opened wide, for dramatic purposes no doubt, and the first years followed the stern witch, their faces filled with amazement, hesitation, and even fear. Zidane simply walked at the very back, his gait confident and yet relaxed, as he took in the sight of the filled Great Hall, the decorations, the feast, and last but definitely not least, Hogwarts' female population. Not that he could help it, it was a natural part of his nature. Though he had to admit that the hall did look amazing, he had seen it several times, but it was practically empty back then.

'_Well, this is going to be fun.' _Zidane thought with a devious smirk.

…..

After a bit of an argument regarding Hagrid's whereabouts and his teaching capabilities, Harry and the others parted from Luna and finally found themselves seating comfortably in the Gryffindor table of the Great Hall. Well, as comfortable as he could be since he was sure he had heard at least half of Hogwarts' student population gossiping about him on his way in. As to confirm their suspicions, Hagrid was not on the staff table either. Instead, Harry was shocked to find the Toad-like witch from his hearing sitting there, clad in a fluffy pink cardigan and with a pink Alice bow on her head.

"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry called out.

"Who?"

"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"

"Nice cardigan." Ron said smirking. That was far too much pink for a person to wear at once.

"She works for Fudge! What on earth is she doing here then?"

"Dunno…"

"No." Hermione said with her eyes narrowing as she looked at the staff table. "No, surely not…"

Harry didn't understand what was going on in Hermione's head but his thoughts quickly snapped to the present when he saw Grubbly-Plank enter the Great Hall and walk all the way to the staff table where she sat down. A few moments later and the doors of the Great Hall swung open and in came Professor McGonagall carrying a stool and the heavily patched wizard's hat that was the Sorting Hat. Behind her followed several pale first years that looked around the room in fear and awe. It really made Harry wonder what he looked like when he crossed those doors the first time, but his thoughts snapped back to the blonde exchange student. Where was he?

Ron nudged him in the ribs and then pointed at the very back. There he was, walking in such a relaxed and confident way that contrasted sharply with the shorter first-years in front of him and made him stand out more. And surely enough a wave of whispers drowned the Great Hall as more onlookers noticed the strange male amongst the younger new arrivals. But the blonde seemed largely unaffected by all the whispers, if anything it seemed to freak out the first years.

"Bloody hell, did you see how the girls are looking at him? You don't think he is part Veela do you?" Ron asked. Harry looked at the other tables and indeed, many of the girls had an almost hungry look on their faces as Zidane passed by them. It was a bit like what happened with Fleur last year, only in a smaller scale and with their roles reversed.

McGonagall silenced most of the whispers with a well placed glare that swept across the four tables, allowing the new arrivals to calmly line up in front of the staff table and face the students as McGonagall settled the stool and hat in front of them and stood back.

The rip near the hat's brim opened up to form a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song.

_In times of old, when I was new,_  
_And Hogwarts barely started,_  
_The founders of our noble school_  
_Thought never to be parted._

_United by a common goal,_  
_They had the selfsame yearning_  
_To make the world's best magic school_  
_And pass along their learning._

_"Together we will build and teach"_  
_The four good friends decided._  
_And never did they dream that they_  
_Might some day be divided._

_For were there such friends anywhere_  
_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_  
_Unless it was the second pair_  
_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_  
_How could such friendships fail?_  
_Why, I was there, so I can tell_  
_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_  
_Whose ancestry's purest."_  
_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_  
_Intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_  
_With brave deeds to their name."_  
_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot_  
_And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife_  
_When first they came to light._  
_For each of the four founders had_  
_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_  
_For instance, Slytherin_  
_Took only pure-blood wizards_  
_Of great cunning just like him._

_And only those of sharpest mind_  
_Were taught by Ravenclaw_  
_While the bravest and the boldest_  
_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest_  
_and taught them all she knew,_  
_Thus, the houses and their founders_  
_Maintained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_  
_for several happy years,_  
_but then discord crept among us_  
_feeding on our faults and fears._

_The Houses that, like pillars four_  
_had once held up our school_  
_now turned upon each other and_  
_divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_  
_must meet an early end._

_what with dueling and with fighting_  
_and the clash of friend on friend._

_And at last there came a morning_  
_when old Slytherin departed_  
_and though the fighting then died out_  
_he left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four_  
_were whittled down to three_  
_have the Houses been united_  
_as they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_  
_and you all know the score:_  
_I sort you into Houses_  
_because that is what I'm for._

_But this year I'll go further,_  
_listen closely to my song:_  
_though condemned I am to split you_  
_still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_  
_and must quarter every year_  
_still I wonder whether sorting_  
_may not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_  
_the warning history shows,_  
_for our Hogwarts is in danger_  
_from external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_  
_or we'll crumble from within_  
_I have told you, I have warned you..._  
_let the Sorting now begin._

The hat once again fell silent, and applause broke out though it was punctured with muttering and whispers. Never in the time he had been here had the Sorting Hat given a warning. According to Nearly Headless Nick, the hat did very rarely as it felt itself honor-bound to give advice whenever it felt it was needed. After another well placed look from McGonagall, the Great Hall was silenced and the sorting began.

"Abercrombie, Euan." The stern witch read.

A small terrified-looking boy stepped up, put on the large hat that was only prevented from falling to his shoulder, by boy's very prominent ears.

"_Gryffindo_r!"

Slowly the line of first years began to diminish, finally ending with Zeller Rose, who went to Hufflepuff. Now the only one left was Zidane who stood right next to Professor McGonagall. Whispers broke out again, but before they could fully grab hold of the hall, Dumbledore rose from his throne-like chair.

"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands, welcome back! As you can see we have a new addition this year. He has come all the way from Salem Witches Institute in the United States to stay with us as part of a study-abroad program. He too will be sorted into a house, and join our fifth years where I hope he will be given a warm Hogwarts welcome! Now, Professor McGonagall, if you please."

The stern witch turned to the students and lowered her eyes to the piece of parchment before her.

"Zidane Tribal."

…

**To be continued….**

…..

**A/N: Boom, cliffie (I am a horrible person, and I apologize). Chapter was becoming too long, so I decided it would be a nice place to stop. I also debated about adding the entire Sorting Hat song, but in this case it was important as foreshadowing, and it didn't really feel complete without it so in the end it stayed. As always, feedback is very welcome. See you guys next week!**


	9. Chapter 9: Into the Den of Beasts

**Note:** This chapter is shorter than the rest, but it also seemed fitting to end it here. You could say this chapter marks the end of the first act, or arc, or as I like to call it the "New World" arc. Thanks to everyone who has kept an eye on this story and thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I really enjoyed some of the stuff you guys sent. I also thank Crystal for always helping beta this fic.

….

(ARC)

To "Guest": Yeah, I guess I could put more, but honestly it just felt it was fitting to end it there. Thanks for reviewing!

….

**Chapter 9: Into the Den of Beasts**

…

Zidane walked calmly, sending a few winks towards some giggling girls at some of the tables, just for kicks though, since he still had Dagger, and sat down on the wooden stool, minding his tail, and yet being careful that it didn't look like he had a tail to be mindful of. He put the hat on his head, and thankfully, it fit well enough. The moment he did so, he felt a presence trying to infiltrate his head, and for a second he thought it was Snape trying to access his memories again like he occasionally did while trying just to catch him off guard, so he blocked it.

'_**Hmm interesting, an occlumens. I'm sorry but I must get a look inside your head if I am to sort you. Anything that I see will be kept between us, I assure you.'**_

Zidane rolled his eyes, but accepted and let his barriers down. He really hated the feeling of having his mind probed by someone.

'_**Don't we all?'**_

'_**I'd appreciate it if you got on with it.'**_Zidane remarked.

'_**Very well then. Hmmm, very interesting, you aren't even human, and not even from the world you were raised in. You are so much more than you let on with so much potential, it seems. You're a thief with principles, which is already quite odd. Oh, and you're not just any thief either, you were created for evil, and yet you have fought so hard to save those whom you were supposed to destroy. You obviously care for your friends much, and you are already considered a hero by many. You like helping people, a fine Hufflepuff trait, but what's this in the corner of your mind. GOOD HEAVENS! Are you really supposed to be sixteen?! Just how many women…nevermind, I don't want to know.'**_

'_**Are you sure?'**_Zidane teased.

'_**Yes very sure, though I think you chose your life partner well, she is quite the ruler indeed.'**_

'_**Thanks.'**_

'_**I should also warn you that this IS a school. Such behavior is not allowed. And no, Hufflepuff is DEFINITELY not for you. I see a lot more potential hidden in your head. Now you are definitely intelligent, at least in your own way, but I doubt that Ravenclaw is suited for you, you're just not the studious type. As for Slytherin, let's see, you are very cunning, yes, very cunning indeed. You could manage great things there.'**_

'_**With Malfoy?! Put me there and I swear that Britain will have bigger things to worry about than Voldemort.'**_

'…_**I see. You do seem happy just the way you are, not overly ambitious like the snakes. I can see it all here in your head; your wish right now is to find a way home, back to your friends, nothing more and nothing less, so Slytherin may not be the place for you, after all. And well, I do believe you would rob the house dry out of spite if I put you there.'**_

'_**You're damn right I would.'**_

'_**So for a brave, yet cunning youth, willing to help others in distress, despite your own wants and needs, indeed there is only one perfect house for you. As is the case I have only one last thing to say…'**_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Cheers erupted in the hall, coming primarily from the Gryffindor table, and none from the Slytherin table. Besides the cheers, there were also cries of dismay.

'_**Thanks, but you could have just put me there after you heard about my mission from Dumbledore.'**_

'_**But if I did, it would not have been any fun. And besides, I'm the Sorting Hat, and I take pride in a job well done. Though I would appreciate it if you got me off your head, I don't want to see what happened during that wild night at Treno again.'**_

Zidane pulled off the hat, rolling his eyes at its words. He handed it back to McGonagall, and headed over to the table with a gold and red banner with a lion. Hermione waved over to him, and he sat next to her.

"Oh it's great that you got into Gryffindor!" Hermione said. "But it did take quite a bit."

"I know but its bloody brilliant!" Ron said and Harry nodded as well.

"Yeah mate-"

"Better than ending up Slytherin, in any case." The twins greeted from across the table.

"I'm Fred."

"And I'm George."

"Pleasure." They both greeted at the same time.

There was a cough from the table and Dumbledore had once again gotten up from his seat.

"Well, the sorting is done, and this is not time for a speech. So all I have to say for now is tuck in!"

Food suddenly appeared from the previously empty table, and Zidane simply thought it was perfect. Not high class like the stuff at Alexandria castle that he hated, but still very tasty. He tried some of the pork chops, roast potatoes, and some gravy. From where he sat he could see that Ron didn't hold himself back. From the way he stuffed his face, Ron kinda reminded him of Cinna, and well, most of his bros from Tantalus. He supposed it had something to do with the red hair as well, since it also reminded him of Blank's flaming locks despite being a lighter shade.

After dinner was done, and Zidane felt a comforting weight in his stomach, the food and everything else on the table disappeared in the blink of an eye. Dumbledore once again rose from his seat, and addressed the school.

He warned them about the Forbbiden Forest and Zidane didn't miss the smirks on the faces of the Golden Trio. He also told them about magic being prohibited in the corridors between classes and a bunch of other things on a list, but Zidane really didn't care enough to pay attention and listen.

"We have had two changes of staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was an unenthusiastic round of applause that followed, but Zidane's head snapped to attention.

'_The ministry spy is here? Huh, I didn't notice her. Where could she-IFRIT'S FLAMING BITS IS THAT HER?!'_ Zidane's eyes widened when he caught sight of the pink abomination that was, apparently his new teacher, and he was simply forced to look away. _'What the hell? She looks like a friggin bizarre pink Gigan Toad! And what the hell is it with so much pink? It almost makes me feel ashamed of my trance form! That's messed up! What is up with wizarding fashion?"_

He barely even noticed as Dumbledore was rudely interrupted, eliciting gasps from everybody in the hall. Even the teachers looked surprise. Proffessor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as ever. _Nobody_ had _ever_ interrupted Dumbledore before.

"Thank you Headmaster for those kind words of welcome…" Umbridge said in a breathy, high-pitched, girlish voice that sounded as annoying as it was fake. He looked at Harry and noticed a scowl on his face. While personally, he had to put conscious effort to stop his tail from moving. Because if it did, not only would it blow his secret, but it would thrash around so badly he would probably end up accidentally slap Hermione, who was sitting right behind him. He wasn't really kidding either, it was a pretty common occurrence back home.

'_Oh dear Eidolons I can't even look at her for too long. Her voice is so annoying too, I really want to gag. I'd rather listen to Kuja rant about himself for hours than this.'_

"Well it's lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say." The woman smiled, showing two rows of small pointy teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me."

Zidane looked around, seeing there were no happy faces at all, and his eyes locked with Harry who was doing the same thing. They both shared a knowing look. If anything, this woman was irritating everyone with the way she spoke to them in such a condescending tone.

Was she actually being serious about this?

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I am sure we'll be very good friends!"

Zidane choked a little with his own saliva, he could feel the hairs on his neck and tail bristle as a shiver ran down his spine. _'Okay, there is no way in hell this toad woman is getting near me! The way she sounded it was almost as if….ugh Odin I don't even want to think about it. It's just like a Dementor, only instead of feeling like I will never be happy again, I feel like I will never be able to get properly aroused. Seriously, from all the old windbags back in the Ministry to choose from, why her?' _

"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan." A girl whispered to another, and then fell into a round of silent giggles.

'_You poor naïve girls. Though on second thought, maybe if things get too bad I can try to smother her with that. If it kills as horribly as it looks…'_

The toad woman cleared her voice and then gained a much more business-like tone. She started talking about how the Ministry valued a young wizard's education, and how each headmaster brought something unique to the school, and then something about discouraging practice for practice's sake, but Zidane couldn't be sure. In fact, he wasn't even going to bother. He knew it was all a nice way of saying that the government was taking over, just with more words and a sugar-coated tone. He didn't care. His mind just couldn't withstand so much bullshit in one go.

Honestly, he was surprised that the students could take it. Maybe he had just become less intolerant to these sort of things after getting into politics for Dagger's sake. Of course there was talk of a social reform before the war actually started, so you could say he could recognize propaganda and thinly concealed political messages when he was them. In this case, they hadn't really bothered to conceal them so well. It was actually a bit disappointing.

'_I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really wish Quina was here. He/She would be simply ecstatic. Though would eating Umbridge give the Qu food poisoning? Cause I sure as hell wouldn't put that in my mouth, EVER. But Quina has eaten weirder things. In Pandemonium he/she actually ate a Malboro, and it took him/her at least two weeks before he/she got rid of the bad breath. Man this is boring. Is this woman ever going to shut up? If Dagger was the one talking I could listen for days. Mmmm Dagger…'_

…

Harry sighed. It was so boring. Nobody was paying any attention anymore, well, except Hermione. But that was because she was Hermione. Ron had long since given up and was staring intently at the grains of wood of the table surface. When he looked at Zidane, he saw that the blonde was completely engrossed in some sort of fantasy, based on the happy look on his face.

Harry himself didn't realize she finished until Dumbledore started clapping and snapped the hall out of its stupor. "Thank you very much Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating. Now as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating." Hermione said.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it? That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I lived with Percy."

"Illuminating, not enjoyable. It's explained a lot."

"It sounded like a load of waffle to me." Harry confessed.

"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle." Hermione said grimly.

"Was there?" Ron asked incredulously.

"How about: 'progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'? How about: 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"

"Well what does that mean?" Ron asked impatiently.

"I'll tell you what it means. It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts." Hermione said through gritted teeth.

There was a series of loud clattering and banging all around them that made everyone, even Zidane, snap out of their thoughts and realize that Dumbledore had just dismissed them. Ron and Hermione left to go guide the first-years, after Hermione berated Ron for called the newcomers 'midgets'. Harry looked at the tiny first-years leaving, and then he grinned at them, which was not a very good idea since some of them actually looked terrified and the whispering amongst them began. Of course, how could he be so stupid? Last year he emerged from the Triwizard Tournament carrying the dead body of another student, claiming that Voldemort had returned. He couldn't even explain everything that happened before going home. People would definitely reach their own twisted conclusions of what happened, especially with what the Daily Prophet had been spewing out.

"Hey wait up!"

Harry turned around and sure enough, Zidane had followed him up the marble staircase. In his arms was a purring Crookshanks.

"I found him waiting outside the hall on a window sill, thought I should probably get him to the Common Room since Hermione is busy. What's up? You look like you have a lot on your mind." Zidane said, and Harry was actually surprised to see genuine concern in his odd cyan eyes.

For a moment Harry considered just telling him that everything was fine. After all, it wasn't even his problem. Why should he care? He was about to reply when another thought crossed his mind. Zidane was a foreigner, meaning there was still a chance he hadn't heard yet, or his opinion wasn't twisted by the media as most people here. He had just talked to him normally, after all. The blonde likely didn't think of him as some troubled youth, even if he knew about the rumors. The thought of telling this strange teen what exactly was on his mind suddenly became more tempting.

He'd been so used to relying on Ron and Hermione all this time, but he was still a bit sore about their leaving him to they own devices during the summer and now with them becoming prefects, he only felt the gap widen. But he couldn't just rely on Ron and Hermione always, could he? It was a new school year and a new start. Besides, why shouldn't he give his own opinion? The teen had so far proved to be trust worthy, at least, according to Crookshanks. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to trust the judgment of an animal that spent most of the day sleeping, though.

Making up his mind, the teen spoke, a hint of the irritation he had been holding onto for so long making itself known.

"It's just that a lot has been happening. And you have probably already heard from others what a huge liar I am and how Dumbledore is going senile. It's all over the Daily Prophet if you want to check it out too." Harry said in a bitter tone. To his surprise the blonde laughed. "What?"

"Maybe I'd read that newspaper if it wasn't so full of shit. I do know about the rumors going on, I'm not going to lie about that. And let me tell you, the best rumor I've heard so far was the one about Sirius Black secretly being a singing sensation." Zidane replied with a chuckle.

"Wait- what?" Harry asked, somehow he expected the blonde to say something different, perhaps some words of encouragement and whatnot, like Ron and Hermione were prone to say.

"You heard me. You think everybody believes what's written on that paper?" The blonde said again with a laugh, but then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "On second thought, most of this school does kind of seem to believe it. They'll probably make your life hell in the following days."

"Is that supposed to be reassuring somehow?" Harry asked, unsure whether he should laugh or feel frustrated at those news at this point.

"What, would you rather have me lie to you, then?" Zidane asked with a shrug.

"Well of course not!" Harry said.

"Well, then there you go. I just wanted to tell you that even though most people believe what they are being told, there are at least some who don't. So, you know, you're not really alone in this." The foreigner said with a smile. "I think we should head to the Common Room, though I don't really know the way."

"It's okay, just follow me." Harry said as he headed to the portrait of the Fat Lady that acted as entrance to the common rooms. Even though the conversation was a bit odd, it did make him feel better.

They reached the portrait bearing the toga-clad, decidedly large woman that guarded the entrance for the Gryffindor Common Room, and that's when they realized that neither of them knew the password. Thankfully, Neville came up to them and by some miracle knew the password because it happened to be the name of his plant.

"_Mimbulus Mimbletonia_."

"Correct." The Fat Lady replied and the portrait swung open to reveal the red and golden colors of the Gryffindor common room.

All whispering immediately ceased the moment the trio stepped in. Zidane lowered Crookshanks on one of the squashy armchairs near the roaring fire and the ginger cat left toward the stairs to the girl's dormitories to find his owner. Harry also noticed that the twins had posted something on the bulletin board. Harry, Zidane, and Neville all went upstairs to the boy´s dormitories only to realize that there was an extra bed adorning their room this year. Zidane would apparently be bunking with them since Dumbledore thought it was better for him to mingle with other of his own age, rather than the first years. His trunk was at the foot of the four-poster bed between Harry and Neville's beds. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were also already in the room, the way they went quiet when they entered made Harry think they had just been talking about him, either that or Moody's paranoia was started to rub off on him.

"Hi." He said to them as he walked over to his trunk.

"Hi Harry. Had a good holiday?" Dean said as he put some pajamas on.

"Not bad." Harry said, which was the highly edited version of how it really was, but then again, he wasn't supposed to let others know. "You?"

"Yeah it was okay, better than Seamus's, anyways, he was just telling me."

"Why, what happened Seamus?" Neville asked as he settled his rather ugly-looking cactus on the nightstand.

Seamus did not answer immediately, but instead continued to paste pictures on his wall, almost as if he hadn't heard them, and when he did answer them, he didn't even turn to face them.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back."

"What? But, why?" Harry paused as he took off his robes.

"Well, I suppose…because of you. Well, it's not just you…Dumbledore too."

"She believes the Daily Prophet? She thinks I'm a liar and Dumbledore's an old fool?" Harry asked, anger starting to rise under the calm surface.

"Yeah, something like that."

Harry put his wand on his nightstand, and fumbled angrily for some pajamas. He put then on and just thought about how sick he was of all of this, his earlier relief from the conversation he had with the blonde gone. He may have people on his side, but almost everyone treated him like a liar, and like he enjoyed getting all this attention. As much as they loved to talk about him, point at him, and even whisper behind his back, they had no idea what it was like. Not Seamus and definitely not his mother.

….

Zidane sighed as the room settled to a tense silence. He had hoped talking to Harry beforehand would help him deal with this sort of thing, but he was still a growing ball of angst. And just like any bomb, he would eventually explode and when that happened, Zidane didn't want Harry to lose his friends. They would be needed to snap him out of his self delusions, like his friends had helped him in Pandemonium. Just like Zidane needed his friends to survive the war, he was sure that Harry would definitely need friends of his own.

He leaned down and opened his trunk to get tomorrow's clothes and put them on his bed, after all, he didn't want the others to witness his daily routine of 'fitting the tail through the hole in his pants'. Were it not for the robes and the hoodie he wore, the hole his tail went through would be completely exposed.

Zidane removed his thief gloves from his hands and set them on his nightstand. Harry had just been asked about what happened in the graveyard, and he had responded as well as he had imagined. In Harry's defense, that wasn't really the sort of question you should ask to people who had lived through something so traumatic. Of course, these were schoolchildren he was talking about, they probably had normal lives, well, _relatively_ normal lives up until now, so they probably had no idea what it was like.

"Don't you have a go at my mother!" Seamus shouted.

"I'll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar!" Harry replied in fury and the blonde flinched. Harry sure was hot-headed. Dumbledore and Sirius told him so, but now seeing it firsthand.

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you how I want!" Harry snapped and reached for his wand. Zidane decided it was time he intervened.

"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Zidane called, startling both males who looked like they were about to lunge for each other. "Okay why don't we all calm down?"

Thankfully Dean and Neville took this as cue to help drag both teens away from each other.

"Harry put your wand down, just do it. Seamus, you can't go blaming Harry for something that is not his fault. He didn't ask for the articles that attacked him to come out, I mean, who the hell would?" Zidane began while the angry teen just looked at him with a confused face. This was their first meeting so he was probably thinking something along the lines of 'who the hell is this guy?'. Before he could retort, Neville stepped in.

"H-he's right Seamus, we've been rooming with Harry for four years, you should know more about him than any newspaper claims. And if you still feel that way then go tell McGonagall to change you to another room, I don't think she would give you any problems. Let's just not start of on the wrong foot, o-okay?" The shy teen said, clearly a bit intimidated by Seamus..

Both males still looked angry, but not enough to actually start killing each other.

'_Thank eidolon's I've gotten better at diplomacy.'_Zidane thought to himself before giving Neville a lopsided smile.

Ron appeared on the doorway just in time to see the two males facing off.

"What's going on here?"

"Harry was having a go at my mother!" Samus yelled.

"Harry wouldn't do that." Ron said. "We met your mother and we liked her."

"That's before she started believing every word the stinking Daily Prophet writes about me!"

"Oh…" Ron said, comprehension dawning on him.

"You know what, he's right!" Seamus said, pointing at Neville. "I don't want to share a dormitory with him anymore, he's mad."

"That's out of order Seamus." Ron said, his ears starting to turn red from anger.

"Out of order am I? You believe all that rubbish he has come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he is telling the truth?" Seamus yelled in anger.

"Yeah I do!" Ron said angrily.

"And so do I." Zidane stepped in, laying his ungloved hand on Harry's shoulder. "I may not be from here, but I know a rat when I see one, and Harry is definitely not lying."

"Me too." Neville piped in.

Harry looked at his three friends and felt a sense of gratitude fill him.

"You're all nutters then!" Seamus yelled before heading to his bed and slamming his curtains closed.

"Alright. Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry?"

"My parent are muggles, mate. They don't know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I'm not stupid enough to tell them." Dean said with a shrug.

"My Gran says it's the Daily Prophet that has gone downhill, not Dumbledore. We cancelled our subscription too. We believe Harry." Neville said.

When Ron looked at Zidane next, the blonde just shrugged. "I don't have any parents." Which was true, it felt too weird to call Baku 'father' anyways. He was always either 'Baku' or 'Boss'.

The occupants of the room turned to look at him oddly, especially Harry, who looked very surprised. Ron looked like he was sorry for making him mention it.

"It's cool, I don't really mind." Zidane assured the red head before sitting down on his bed and removing his robe.

It wasn't a lie. Tantalus was like a family for him, and not just Tantalus, but also the large, close-knit, group of friends he had made over the years. Blood ties meant little compared to something like that. He didn't need a family with them. They _were_ his family.

'_Now that I think about it, I will be starting a family with Dagger, too.'_ The genome realized as he lay down. His friends were likely going to start families of their own, as well. It would be an entirely new side of his ever-expanding family.

…

Harry wondered if Dumbledore had to go through this too in the past summer when he was kicked out of the Wizengamot and then the International Confederation of Wizards. Did he even have someone to defend him? Was he angry? Was that why he hadn't contacted him in months? Both of them were in this together. They were both targets.

The teen felt so grateful when the three came up to defend him. But now his mind just froze when Zidane said had no parents. Just like him. Neville's parents were still alive even though many considered it a fate worse than death, and even then, Neville had his grandmother. Even _he_ still had his godfather and that had to count. But the way Zidane talked about his parents was almost as if he held no sort of bond with them. Maybe he lived with some other relative or something, or maybe just like him, he was abandoned at some unloving relative's doorstep.

Harry put on his own pajamas, and when he turned around he saw a shirtless Zidane facing him, and he blinked. He had only seen it for a moment before the blonde closed the curtains, but it was clear that the blonde had a very well-toned body, even if he was on the shorter verge of average height. But what caught his attention the most was what looked like a large scar on his torso, but he couldn't be sure since he only saw a brief glance of it, and it could have just as easily been a trick of the light.

"Well guys, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight." Neville said.

"Goodnight guys." The blonde replied as shuffling noises were heard from Ron's bed as the red head finished putting his pajamas on.

"Goodnight" Harry replied.

"Goodnight." Dean said as well.

Ron said his goodnights as well, and seeing as Seamus was still angry, he just blew the candle that lit the room and said room was plunged into darkness.

"Oh yeah." Zidane's voice cut from the darkness. "I guess I should warn you. Don't open the curtains on my bed."

"Why is that?" Neville asked in curiosity.

"I sleep in the nude."

**To be continued…**

…

**AN: So I'm guessing many of you would have liked me putting Zidane in Slytherin or something of the sort. I thought so too for some time, but I realized that it would have been impossible for Zidane to interact as much with the Golden Trio in other house other than Gryffindor, not just because they wouldn't see each other as much, but also because (and let's be perfectly honest here) houses do tend to socially segregate students. The only other non-Gryffindor student that gets attention is Luna, and even then, she only shows up on occasion, being a bit of a black sheep herself. Also, Zidane's personality does fit best with Gryffindor (either that or Hufflepuff).**

**So, here's my question to you: What house have you guys been sorted into (using Pottermore or whatever)? If not, what is your favorite house and why? (I was sorted into Ravenclaw)**


	10. Chapter 10: Mondays From Hell

**Notes: **I'd like to start off by paying my respects to the victims of the grade 8.0 earthquake that took place in northern Chile last week, as well as the victims of the subsequent tidal waves. Yes, there were very few deaths, a lot less that there could have been, but these sort of experiences can still scar others in ways that aren't always very apparent. I'd also like to thank this particular reviewer who PMed me to see if I was alright. Yes, everything is fine since I don't live in that particular region.

Once again, thank you all for your continued support with this fic, and also, thanks to my beta because she's the reason I even started writing this in the first place. As always, comments and critiques are always welcome, don't be shy.

This chapter marks the beginning of the Hogwarts Introduction Arc.

**Chapter 10: Mondays from Hell**

…

The next morning, Seamus left the dorms before Harry even finished putting his socks on. It was clear that the teen wanted to spend as little time as possible in his proximity. He probably thought that overexposure to him would turn him into a complete nutter, and thus took a leaf out of the Dursely's book and avoided him like the plague.

"What the bloody hell is his problem?" Harry scoffed.

"Seamus is just…" Dean gave a small sigh, but didn't finish what he was about to say, and instead, just left the dormitories as well. Dean and Seamus were close friends, so even if he didn't specifically agree with Seamus, he would not go against him either.

Harry rolled his eyes and when he turned around, Ron and Neville, they both gave him a look that clearly said 'it's his problem and not yours, so don't even go there'. Harry was a bit surprised to see that Neville could actually manage it. He made his way over to grab his bag and place in it the things he would need for class. He was about to head out, too, but he suddenly got the feeling that something was amiss.

"Hey, where is Zidane? Is he still asleep?"

"Probably mate, but at this rate he's gonna be late for breakfast." Ron said.

"Should we wake him up?" Neville asked, a bit uncertain.

Harry and Ron exchanged hesitant looks. Yes, they were all males, so having one of them sleep with nothing on shouldn't really bother them so much, but on the other hand, waking up a naked blonde foreigner was not exactly the best way to start a Monday morning.

Both of them looked back at Neville, their expressions blank.

"Nope."

"But he's going o be late for class!" Neville said, but the two teens had already left. With a sigh, the round-faced boy turned towards the bed whose curtains were still drawn. "Gran always did say to always help my friends."

"Zidane, wake up." Neville said as he gently prodded the figure that was (thankfully) almost fully covered except for the wild mane of blonde hair that was now laying on the fluffy pillows.

Neville saw the figure stir under the bed covers, though it was hard to see since the curtains were still almost completely drawn.

"Zidane you have to wake up now or else we'll be late." Neville said, shaking the boy slightly.

"Hmmm… Dagger. I love you my sweet, sweet Dagger." Zidane sleep-talked right into his pillow, making the teen barely make out the words. Neville blushed profusely.

"E-erm, Zidane we really have to go." Neville tried again, this time shaking him harder.

"Why hurry? We have all the time in the world for ourselves." Zidane once again slurred, only this time it had a suggestive undertone. The blonde suddenly reached out for the arm that shook him and pulled the round-faced boy unto the bed with him. Neville was beet-red and spluttering at this point.

"Z-Zidane!"

…

The blonde cracked an eye open at the loud sound, though his mind was clearly still sluggish from having just woken up. Someone had just woken him up from the most incredible dream. The greenish-blue eye finally focused on the on the blonde hair and round face of a teen, clearly male, and said male stared back, his expression being one of embarrassment. It took a few seconds for Zidane's sleepy mind to process what was going on, and when it did, Zidane furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're not my Dagger." Only after a few more seconds did it all come back to him. He was in Hogwarts, not on Gaia. And this person on his bed right now was Neville and MOST DEFINITELY not his precious Dagger, coming to wake him up with a 'good-morning' kiss before heading off to take care of her royal duties.

"Oh…sorry about that Neville." Zidane said sheepishly, but it did nothing to help the thoroughly embarrassed Gryffindor. At least he didn't move in for a kiss, otherwise he would have really traumatized the teen. Nevile was apparently very faint-hearted.

Good thing he hadn't seen the tail, either. That would have been hell to explain. He supposed he should really start being more careful from now on.

He closed his curtains, got dressed, and re-vanished his tail in record time. He grabbed all his things for class and left with Neville for the Great Hall. Both Gryffindors were greeted by a stern looking McGonagall, who shook her head and handed them their schedules.

"Do try to be on time from now on. Oh, and Mr. Tribal?" McGonagall said, gaining the blonde's attention. "Students are required to use the full uniform, properly. So do straighten your tie and tug-in your shirt."

Zidane rolled his eyes. It was gonna be a looong first day.

….

History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts. Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and Umbridge all in one day. Worst. Monday. Ever.

Harry almost slammed his head against the table. Why did stuff like this always happen to him?

"Why do you keep getting the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked Hermione as a small barn owl delivered her a copy.

"It's good to know what the enemy is thinking." She replied and dropped a knut into the small leather pouch attached to the owls leg, before the owl flew away. "Hmmm, nothing. Wait…the Ministry is planning to withdraw the Aurors stationed at Diagon Alley since there hasn't been a reported theft in over a month. The previous investigation regarding the explosion that took out a large section of the street resulted inconclusive. It seems like Diagon's serial thief is no more."

"Bloody hell. I mean, they say the guy must have been pretty powerful to pull off what he did. I mean he stole from so many purebloods, but they didn't even catch the bloke! Do you think he blew up the street as a last stunt?" Ron said.

"It is very odd indeed, but there isn't really enough evidence to conclude anything. It looks like this is going to cause the Order some trouble, though." Hermione concluded in a hushed tone so nobody could hear.

"Why's that?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Well, think about it. That thief was the reason they put up Aurors in the first place, but without those Aurors, Diagon Alley is completely unprotected from _anything_. So in reality having the thief around was actually beneficial …but, I know there has to more to it as well. I think the Order may know more about this than they are letting on."

"So in other words, the thief was also helping us and the Order just doesn't want to tell. Just like the reason why Hagrid is gone, Order is also behind it." Harry also said in a hushed tone.

After a short conversation about Hagrid's whereabouts, and the new Qudditch Keeper tryouts, Hermione and Ron were now next to him arguing with Fred and George about the whole Skiving Snackboxes thing, well, it was mostly Hermione doing the arguing. Ron knew better than confronting the twins. She kept reprimanding them about putting up ads in the common room notice board. The subject of conversation then switched to the OWLs they would be taking this year, and according to the twins, were usually preceded by intense mental breakdowns usually a few weeks prior to the examinations. The twins themselves had only gotten three each, which was surprising because their inventions, although silly, were works of genius. When asked about where they were getting their funding, Harry gave them a small cautionary glare. Ron and Hermione (especially Hermione) would kill him if they found out he had given the twins the prize money from the Triwizard tournament.

After the twins left to sell some Extendable Ears before class, Harry noticed Neville and Zidane sit at the table with schedules in hand, while Zidane looked quite calm, though a bit sleepy, Neville looked particularly red in the face. Harry wasn't really sure if he wanted to know.

"Hey guys." Zidane said as he grabbed two toasts. Neville just waved before reaching for a muffin.

But before he could even greet the two, he was approached by none other than Cho Chang. The fact that she was alone was bizarre in itself, as the girl was usually accompanied by her 'pack' of friends. He would know since he had spent weeks trying to catch her alone to ask her to the Yule ball last year.

He just couldn't understand it. Cho used to be Cedric's girlfriend, thus he expected her to be angry and upset at the fact that he had made it out of the graveyards alive and not Cedric. But no, if her tone of voice was anything to go by, the girl wasn't angry at him or anything. But it was so strange that she had sought him out, not once, but twice in such little time. By the look she was giving him, she obviously wanted to say something in private. It was almost as if their roles had been reversed.

"It that a Tornado's badge? You don't support the Tornado's do you?" Ron suddenly asked, pointing at the sky-blue and gold badge on her robes.

"Yeah, I do."

"Have you always supported them or only after they started winning the league?" The redhead said with an accusatory tone of voice.

"I have supported them since I was six." Cho said in an indignant tone and then turned to Harry. "Anyways, I'll…see you later Harry."

Harry once again wanted to slam his head against something, but instead settled for glaring at his best friend. He was quite glad that Hermione had joined him as well.

"What? Most so called 'fans' only joined them after they started winning, they only jumped on the band-wagon last minute." Ron said defensively.

"Who cares what Quidditch team she supports, don't you see she wanted to talk to Harry alone? You're so tactless!" Hermione reprimanded her.

"Yeah, now it will be more difficult for Harry here to hook up." Zidane said with a grin, Ron almost choked.

"What on earth made you think that?!" Ron asked with shock.

The blonde foreigner just shrugged. "She looked kind of needy. I don't know the details, but she must have come here for something. Girls don't usually leave their groups unless they have something specific in mind. You'll find most girls go to the bathroom together, as well."

"Well, that's not true. What about Hermione?" The redhead countered.

"She's a special case." The blonde said before turning towards the bushy-haired girl. "No offense, Hermione."

"None taken." Hermione said flatly.

"Anyways, I think she'll return sooner or later." The blonde, giving Harry a slimmer of hope.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Neville asked.

"Well, the thing about girls is that-"

The rest of the conversation was interrupted by the sound of a ringing bell.

"Well, time for class." The bushy-haired girl said, interrupting the blonde with a bit too much enthusiasm. Harry personally couldn't tell if she was just glad because classes were starting, or rather, because it gave her a reason to change the topic. "What classes are you taking Zidane?"

"I have History of Magic now.." Zidane said handing Hermione his schedule for her to see. "Doesn't sound very fun, though."

"Oh, look your schedule is the same as Harry and Ron's!" Hermione said with an excited cry. "That's so great, we get to share so many classes! I have so many questions!"

Harry almost felt sorry for the blonde exchange student right then. And judging by the way he was slowly backing away, it looked like he was carefully weighing his options. In the end he was given no choice as Hermione practically dragged everyone to classroom 4F on the first floor where the subject was taught.

…..

To say that History of Magic was boring was an understatement. Even the fact that the teacher was a ghost didn't seem to help. According to Ron, Professor Binns wasn't even aware of the fact he died. He just got up one day from where he fell asleep in the staff-room, and went to teach, leaving his body behind. Zidane though that the man may have bored himself to death. Indeed, listening to the man drone on and on about some 'giant wars' had nearly the same effect on the class as a widely dispersed Sleep spell. The only one that seemed to be even bothering was Hermione. The genome simply couldn't fathom how or why she would even do that.

Another reason Zidane couldn't really pay attention was mostly because he couldn't see or hear ghosts very well. All he was seeing right now were small flickers of a transparent figure, while all he heard were a couple of words cut short, as if he were hearing them through an old radio. It had happened back in Gaia too, when Vivi, Quina, and Quale (Quina's master) claimed to have seen Quan's (Vivi's adoptive grandpa) ghost. He was standing right there and he didn't see _anything_. But suddenly all three started talking to the air before them. It wasn't until after Vivi told him what happened that Zidane understood. The blonde still had no idea why he couldn't see them well. Maybe it was just because he was a genome. At least here in Hogwarts he could catch flickers of them and sense them when they moved through the corridors.

Zidane looked at the clock and gave a sigh, there was still at least twenty minutes left of class, and he wasn't sleepy enough to take a nap. Neville sat next to him, but the boy had long since fallen asleep. Compared to this boredom, Hermione's incessant questions were like a blessing. He could at least lie or say he wasn't allowed give out such information. But there simply was no escape from this class. Just having to sit still for long amounts of time was hell, and went against his very nature. He could feel his tail twitching in annoyance, but he couldn't move it around much because of the chair he sat on. He looked around the room to see many students dozing off, or playing around with their quills. With a sigh he looked at his hands, now wearing thin gloves, rather than his thicker thief gloves mostly because these were easier to write with.

He dug into his pockets and when he felt something in them, he stopped and a puzzled frown slid into his face, but soon a grin replaced it as he remembered what it was. He reached for his Tetra Master deck, and proceeded to play with himself while being grateful for having remembered to take it out of his bag earlier.

….

Harry yawned but otherwise was glad that the class was finally over. He looked over to see Ron finally snapping out of his Binns-induced stupor, and Hermione gathering her things to leave. When he looked over at Zidane and Neville, he noticed that Neville was just waking up while Zidane just finished up what looked like a game with Muggle playing cards of some sort.

"Honestly, you should at least try to pay attention." Hermione berated them. "How do you expect to pass your OWLs? I swear, one of these days you'll all have to deal with this on your own."

Harry, Ron, and even Neville panicked. Apparently the only reason they had made it past History of Magic so far was because of Hermione's extensive notes on the subject. But thankfully, in the end Hermione would never abandon her friends when they needed her, so she agreed to help them.

"Well I'm just glad I don't need to do any OWLs." Zidane said with a lighthearted laugh. "Though I could use some help on the assignments, history has never been my thing."

The group slowly made their way to the dungeons where Potions took place. The cold and dampness of the place was enough to bother anyone, and Zidane had to discreetly wrap his tail closer to himself to retain warmth. To make matters worse, he soon found out who exactly taught the subject.

Snape never really rubbed him the right way either. He knew he was pretending to be a spy for Voldemort and he was almost sure he wouldn't betray the Order. But that didn't stop him from thinking that the guy was a prick. Whenever they saw each other, the man would try to catch him off guard and wiggle into his head. Though he occasionally got an image or two, most of the time Zidane would kick him out. That is until he discovered a much more amusing way to irritate the man. Whenever he tried to pry his mind open, Zidane would let him in, but only allow him to see what he chose to show him. The looks of disgust and irritation that followed were always totally worth it.

One time, he had trapped him in his mind for almost half an hour showing him nothing but some of his best romantic encounters. Snape had nearly jinxed him afterwards, but Zidane just assumed that he was jealous. It was his fault for invading his mind, anyways.

The genome noticed that Harry seemed to get steadily angrier the closer they got to the classroom, while Neville just seemed to get steadily paler. In any case, it was obvious that they disliked the man. The group decided to sit at the back of the class they would be sharing with the Slytherins. The moment Snape entered the room, he told everyone to be quiet, which was a bit redundant in Zidane's opinion since the man's presence was already enough to make the room go silent. Before they actually got into the lesson, Snape gave them the announcement that only those that received an Outstanding on their OWL for Potions, would be accepted into next years' NEWT class. Zidane didn't care, he wasn't planning on staying till next year, anyways.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace a potion to calm anxiety and sooth agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients, you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing." Snape drawled. From the next table over. Zidane saw with some amusement how Hermione's back straightened and her eyes took a look of determination. "The ingredients and method are on the blackboard. You will find anything you need in the store cupboard. You have an hour and a half. Start."

With a few quick waves the instruction appeared on the blackboard, while the door to the cupboard opened. Zidane just shrugged as everyone quickly rose from their seats as if they sat on fire and went to get the ingredients. The powdered moonstones were easy enough to find, but Zidane didn't recognize the rest. In the end he just grabbed what he saw Hermione grab and followed the descriptions on the board to figure out what ingredient was what. After that, the potion was easy enough to brew, maybe not the easiest he had ever made, but certainly not the worst. He would have to thank Dr. Tot for this afterwards.

"A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potions." Snape called once there were only ten minutes left of class.

Zidane looked at his potion and noticed that indeed there were short silvery puffs of vapor rising from his potion in short intervals. They weren't really 'gently rising' from his cauldron, but it was close enough to the description, he supposed. Next to him Neville's potion did not issue any smoke, but instead it looked more like a cement mix.

'_Probably added to much moonstone.'_ Zidane mused.

Harry's potion was blowing copious amounts of gray smoke, while Ron's was giving off green sparks. In fact, it looked like the only ones that managed a good enough potion was him and Hermione, which didn't exactly come off as a surprise.

Snape looked over his potion and curled his lip, but otherwise walked away. There was obviously nothing wrong with his potion, as he did the same with Hermione. When he caught sight of the billowing clouds of black smoke, he swooped down to where Harry was like a vulture that just spotted a fresh carcass.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Snape said, getting the attention of all Slytherins nearby. They seemed to know what was coming and were actually looking forward to it.

"The Draught of Peace." Harry replied.

"Tell me Potter, can you read?" Snape asked, making all the Slytherins including Malfoy start laughing.

"Yes I can." Harry replied coldly.

"Then read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter." Snape drawled.

Harry did and froze. When Snape asked if he did everything, he truthfully replied, saying he forgot the Hellevore syrup. While Zidane had to admit that Snape knew his potions, that didn't really sway his opinion of him being a prick. Snape just called his potion a worthless mess and made it disappear with a quick _Evanesco._ At this point the cyan-eyed teen really wondered what Harry had done to get on Snape's shit -list. A lot of students had done worse than Harry, and yet they would still get grades for their work. Then again, many of those students were Slytherins, Snape's little snakes. The man was clearly showing favoritism to his own house.

When told to fill in a labeled vial of their potion, Zidane had to help Neville get some of his cement mixture out of the cauldron and into the small glass vials. He saw with some amusement as one of Malfoy's goons tried doing the same, only for his robes to somehow burst into flames.

'_Absolutely hilarious.'_ Zidane thought with a very Kuja-like chuckle, before stopping dead in his tracks after realizing it himself. _'Dammit!'_

He walked up to Snape's desk and left a vial of his potion. He then grabbed his things and left the dungeons altogether. When he saw that the coast was clear, he reached into his sleeve where a second vial with his potion had been carefully hidden. He looked down at his prize and grinned.

'_Draught of Peace, eh? Might prove useful.' _Zidane put the vial right between his elixirs and ethers in his small charmed travel bag that was with him always. Seeing as it was time for lunch, he headed over to the Great Hall, whistling a merry tune on the way.

…

"Oh shut up, the pair of you! Can't you give it a rest? You are always having a go at each other, it's driving me mad!" Harry snapped at his friends, much to their shock. He grabbed his things, abandoned his shepherd's pie, and left the Great Hall.

They were just in the middle of lunch when they began talking about Snape's enmity towards Harry. Harry, unlike Hermione, honestly didn't expect his relationship with the potions-master to improve, even if said man was in the Order of the Phoenix. Harry didn't even trust the man enough to believe he was on their side of the war. They all knew Snape was a "former" Death Eater, but as the saying went, tigers just don't change their stripes. The only reason most people hadn't jinxed the man on sight was because Dumbledore trusts him.

That was brought on another heated discussion between Ron and Hermione. Ron, as always, thought that the git still supported Voldemort. Hermione, being more sensible, believed that Dumbledore had a reason to trust the man. Both however, sounded like a bickering married couple, which was really starting to get on his nerves. He just about had enough. He was so sick of it and his temper just couldn't stand it anymore. Hermione was the one that said they should stay together! And yet she was the one having constant rows with Ron.

With that in mind he tried getting as far away as he could. This year had been horrible so far. He constantly felt like he was constantly being pushed against a wall with now way of escape. Almost everyone was against him. Voldemort was back. The Order kept him in the dark. Dumbledore wouldn't even look at him. Hagrid was gone. The Ministry invaded Hogwarts. He kept getting these strange dreams, and felt his scar constantly pain him. And yet, he couldn't help but feel like things would get worse.

He walked up to the Northern Tower and waited underneath the trap door that led to the Divination classroom. He didn't give a damn if he offended Ron or Hermione, not at this point. He was much too angry for that. He just couldn't face his friends right now. He needed a distraction, something to help him get his mind off of things. With that in mind, he faced the window in hopes that maybe looking at the dark, rain clouds outside might help him relax.

"You know, you shouldn't bottle your anger up like that."

Harry was startled by the voice and snapped his head so quickly towards it that his neck gave a painful crick. Zidane was right there, arms crossed and casually leaning against the wall, which was odd since Harry didn't even hear him arrive. For a moment the teen felt a bit of anger for having been apparently followed, or maybe he was just angry at being addressed while he was clearly trying to find some peace and quiet.

"Bottling up your feelings will only make you explode harder later on, as you did during lunch."

"I know! What are you doing here?" Harry said in a tone that came out harsher than he intended, but the blonde just seemed to ignore the anger aimed towards him.

"I wanted to see if you were okay and maybe you wanted to talk about it. It'll make you feel better, anyhow." The cyan-eyed teen said with a shrug.

"It's nothing." Harry said flatly.

"Well, people don't just snap at their friends like that for nothing, as annoying as they their bickering gets." Zidane said with a laugh. "I mean, I can totally picture those two married. There is a bit of a spark, especially when you notice how Ron gets when guys start getting friendly with Hermione. I just don't think he realizes it yet. Has he always been like that?"

Harry blinked, once again, his conversation had seemingly taken another unexpected turn. It seemed to happen a lot when he talked to the blonde. Looking at the dark rain clouds far way, he took in a breath of fresh air and then decided he'd let this conversation take its course.

"Yeah, they have." Harry said, his anger seemingly melting, if just a little bit, with the blonde's light-hearted conversation.

Silence seemed to overtake the two as they watched the sky before Harry spoke once more.

"You should have seen him last year when he found out that Quidditch superstar, Victor Krum asked Hermione out to the Yule Ball."

Zidane just laughed in a good-natured fashion. "Feeling better then?"

Harry nodded a bit. "I shouldn't have snapped at them like that. Even if they were irritating sometimes, I guess I overreacted. It's just been hell lately, and I guess I'm just not good at dealing with this as everyone else seemed to think."

The blonde just shrugged again. "Most people don't have to deal with any of this. This is school! We should be allowed to make mistakes while we can, eh?"

"Right, and like being a student wasn't already hard enough." Harry said.

"Speaking of that. What is up between you and Snape? That guy was totally out for you today." Zidane asked making himself comfortable as he settled next to Harry.

"Git has always hated me." Harry replied and began to tell Zidane of his experiences with the moody potions teacher.

Soon they started talking about teachers in general, and then to Harry's most disliked subjects which included Divination and Trelawney's yearly predictions of his death. Before he even knew it, the bell signaling the end of lunch rung, and both teens were the firsts to enter the classroom through the silvery ladder that hung from a trapdoor.

…

The moment Zidane entered through the trapdoor, it was like he had just been punched in the face. For a moment, he felt like he was going to fall backwards from where he came through, but luckily he managed to regain his balance. The atmosphere in the room was simply unbearable. Curtains and fabrics were drawn, so the air was warm, heavy, and stale. His nose itched uncomfortably like he wanted to sneeze from the strong, almost nauseating, scent of perfume and incense that permeated the air.

For a moment, he actually felt like he would pass out since his brain didn't seem to be getting any oxygen. But luckily he was able to avoid suffocation by making his way over to the nearest window and slamming it open it to get some fresh air. And just in time too, since black spots had started overtaking his vision.

Next to him he could see that Harry seemed uncomfortable, but not as overwhelmed as him. It was at times like these that he really cursed his keener and superior senses. He took a seat on one of the small chairs next to a spindly table with a leather bound book on it, avoiding the colored pouffes that littered the classroom. Those things were a giant literal pain in the ass. Having to sit directly on top of your tail was actually quite painful. Harry took a seat next to him on the overstuffed pouffe that was partially covered by shadows.

Now that he had settled, he finally turned to look at his Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney. The woman was very thin, and covered in beads and shawls. She had frizzled hair and wore thick glasses that greatly magnified her eyes. If Zidane had to take a guess, he'd say that she was the result of a successful mating between a dragonfly and a starved Basilisk, well, if that could be called 'successful'. The woman was currently swopping around the room like an oversized moth, leaving those thick leather bound books on the tables and seemingly paying them no mind.

'_Not that Harry seems bothered by that at all.'_ Zidane thought with amusement. _'Seriously why are witches and wizards so weird?'_

Slowly more and more students leaked into the room and settled down in small groups. Zidane saw a pair of girls, Parvati and Lavender, whispering quietly amongst themselves and casting furtive looks at him. He thought about humoring them so he sent a wink and a dashing smile in their direction. The girls both blushed and burst into a fit of giggles which greatly amused him. Ron soon appeared and settled in a pouffe next to Harry.

"Me and Hermione have stopped arguing." Ron said.

"Good." Harry replied.

"But Hermione says she thinks it would be nice if you stopped taking out you temper on us."

Harry sighed and looked at Ron after giving Zidane a quick glance. "I-I'm sorry… bloody pressure is just getting to me and-"

"It's all right mate, I'm sorry for always picking fights with Hermione."

"Friends?" Harry asked.

"Friends." Ron replied.

…

Harry quieted once Professor Trelawney turned to the students and welcomed them back to another year of Divination. She claimed to have been looking over their fortunes in the summer, and just as predicted, they had come back safely.

Harry felt the need to roll his eyes. _'Of course, unless you count that I was attacked by Dementors.'_

"Ah, and just as the tea leaves predicted, we have a new addition in our voyage to unfurl the mysteries of the future and beyond." Professor Trelawney said dramatically, like she always did. "Now tell me young voyager, what is your name?"

The 'young voyager' she was referring to currently looked like just being in the room was causing him physical pain. Even when sitting next to the open window he looked like he was going to pass out. Which Harry found odd, sure the amount of perfumes and incense the witch used weren't exactly subtle, and their intensity did make him fell woozy and sleepy, but never to that extent.

"Zidane Tribal." The blonde answered in a sleepy manner while leaning his head on an arm that was currently on the table he shared with him and Ron.

"Ah yes, my child, I had already predicted your arrival." Trelawney said flaring her arms dramatically. She then approached the blonde and took one hand, removing the white glove that covered it and holding it so she could read his palm. The blonde made the motion to protest, but in his current state he simply could do nothing as the woman began tracing lines of his palm. "It's all here in your palm. A wavy heart line; many relationships but none all that serious. A head line separated from the life line; adventure and love for life. Hmmm, not a very risk free life since I see lot's if serious injuries, bad family relationships, and many traumatic experiences. And what's this? You reject fate, since it has caused you much strife. Pity…"

….

Zidane angrily pulled his hand away from the woman's grasp just as the teacher rose and addressed her students once more. He knew most of these future predicting mumble jumbo was complete bull. He had met fortune tellers who revealed to him their 'secrets'. Most of the time, they were vague descriptions that would contradict each other and could be applied to anyone. It followed the principle that if you threw enough darts at a single target some were bound to hit the bull's-eye. But what this woman just said was as annoying as it was truthful.

'_Except for the relationships thing, I am with Dagger now, and if marriage doesn't count as 'serious' then nothing else does. Besides, if she knew I was coming then why didn't her 'powers' also tell her my name?'_

But anyways, there was no reason to say stuff like that in front of everyone. As soon as she finished, the classroom broke into a wave of whispers, all about him no doubt. The woman made him look like a teen with a hopelessly tragic past. Which now that he thought about it, was not all that inaccurate, but still, he _hated_ getting looks of pity from others. He looked at Harry and noticed the sympathizing look on his face that said 'at least she hasn't predicted your death yet'. Sympathy was a lot better than outright pity. The woman then instructed them to look at the leather bound books with 'The Dream Oracle' on their covers that were sitting on each table.

….

Harry sighed as Trelawney finished her dramatic dissection of the blonde. Judging by the almost ferocious look on Zidane's face, he was pretty angry, which he guessed meant that Trelawney was indeed correct about a few things. Though he would be pissed off too if Trelawney just openly publicized such things about him, correct or not.

'_But based on what she said, Zidane had it pretty rough, just like me.' _

Harry snapped back to what Professor Trelawney was saying. They would be studying dream interpretation this year. He was not at all surprised when the seer started talking about OWLs, or when she expressed her belief that the sacred art of Divination was above passes or fails. The woman had always behaved in such an eccentric way, almost as if she knew everything and was beyond common mortals, even though her many predictions of his tragic and early death had yet to occur. Heck, she even stayed in her tower instead of eating at the Great Hall, because she said it would cloud her 'inner eye'. Something was definitely clouded, but Harry was sure it wasn't her inner eye.

They were divided into pairs, and were told to read the chapter on dream interpretation and then try to interpret each other's dreams. He was partnered to Ron as usual, while in the next table over, Dean was partnered to Neville. Since class used to be even-numbered until Zidane's arrival, the blonde boy ended up joining him and Ron's group. They could be hardly called a group, since they would also talk to Dean and Neville when Trelawney was busy elsewhere.

The only thing Harry was glad of was that Divination was not a double period. In fact, after reading the chapter, there was only about ten minutes or so until class ended. Harry supposed it was a good thing since Zidane was hardly holding up.

Dean told them about a dream where he was chased by bludgers. Neville began a long winded explanation of a dream he had involving a pair of giant scissors wearing his grandmother's best hat. Ron just passed saying he hardly remembered his dreams. Harry did the same thing, not because he couldn't remember his dreams, but because he already knew what most meant. Especially the ones where he relived what happened in the graveyard. The other dreams he kept having about the dark corridor and a hooded Marcus could easily be passed off as stress. In any case, there was no way he would openly share those. When the group turned to ask Zidane what he dreamt about, the blonde just chuckled.

"You guys DO NOT want to know, trust me." The blonde said, and Harry noticed how Neville's face suddenly looked as red as a ripe tomato.

The bell rang just in time and though Harry was happy to finally leave the retched class, he was dreading all the homework they were assigned. They had two essays due, one about the Giant Wars for History of Magic, while Snape wanted one about the properties and uses of moonstone. And to add to the pile, Trelawney just assigned them to keep a dream journal for the rest of the month. Fred and George were really not joking about OWL year. He could only hope that Umbridge wouldn't be as bad, but somehow he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding when he thought about the pink-clad woman.

**To be continued…**

…

**A/N: The thing about ghosts is that Zidane actually cannot perceive them as well as others would. In the cutscene mentioned in this chapter, the only one who couldn't see the ghost of Vivi's grandfather was Zidane. Now, this could be because Vivi's grandfather was specifically showing himself to Vivi and because the others were also Qus. In this fic I am attributing this fact to Zidane having a Terran soul and thus really can't perceive foreign souls, or maybe genomes just aren't quite capable of it. He can somewhat perceive Hogwarts ghosts because those ghosts are bond to the mortal plane, and specifically Hogwarts, unlike Vivi's grandfather who was free to move on. **

**Tetra Master is a card game in FFIX where you use cards portraying different characters, monsters, and items that you can find in the game. Zidane also kept his deck inside his bag, though luckily for him, his game can be passed off as a Muggle card game that as becoming steadily more popular in the U.S. **

**Basilisks actually do exist in FFIX but they resemble large lizards with huge, crazy-looking eyes. **

**Not a lot happened in this chapter to be honest, but that's mostly because I wanted to show the teens partaking in usual teen behavior, which is something that's completely new to Zidane. Of course, trying to get used to a student's normal life is going to be another separate battlefield for him. **

**My question this week is: what was/is your highschool experience like? If you´re not quite there yet, then what would you like it to be like? (For the record, my highschool experience was awful) **

**See you guys next week!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Woman in Pink

**Notes:** Not much to say this week. It's been long, arduous, and I have tests coming up. As always, thanks to Crystal for beta-ing, and thanks to everyone that has been following up until now. Also, thanks to Dark-heika for recommending this fic on TV Tropes. Again, feedback is always welcome.

….

**Chapter 11: The Woman in Pink**

….

Zidane was taking in deep breaths of fresh air when he left that classroom, for a moment he didn't think he would make it, more than twice felt like he was going to pass out. Now he only had to survive through DADA and he would be home free… until tomorrow.

He followed Harry and Ron to the DADA classroom and the second he entered it, he felt a shiver go down his spine, all the way to his invisible tail, which bristled in response. The desks were ordered in perfect rows, but it was in a way that made it look both eerie and unnatural. When he looked at the teacher's desk, he almost drew out his daggers to attack the creature, but stopped himself just in time once he realized it was just Umbridge. She was once again wearing that nasty pink fluffy cardigan that made him feel slightly self-conscious, and the black bow that resembled a suicidal fly perched on top of a large pasty frog.

The genome sighed as he noticed that there was still some time until class started. He considered putting as much distance between him and the toad-like woman as possible, but in the end just sat down near Harry and Ron, with Hermione and Neville flanking him. He originally thought against sitting close to Hermione giving her constant questions about his background, but with Neville next to him, he could always engage the teen in some pointless conversation just to be able to give Hermione the 'not-now-let's-talk-later' excuse, with 'later' meaning never.

The bell rang to signal the start of class, and from the teacher's table he briefly noticed the way the woman in pink was eyeing him, right before students rushed into the class bringing chatter, and the sounds of chairs being pushed against the floor. After a minute or so the noise died down and everyone was quiet in anxious wait. Nobody knew what to expect from this new teacher. Was she strict? Was she nice? Zidane wasn't keeping his hopes up.

'_I got a bad feeling about this.'_ Zidane thought. His tail was still bristled, and his tail was never wrong. He was not going to enjoy this.

….

"Well, good afternoon!" Umbridge said in an obviously-fake, sugary sweet voice. Only a few people replied with unenthusiastic 'good afternoon's. "Tut tut, that won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time please. Good afternoon class!"

Harry looked at the teacher like she was insane, while several students repeated after her. She was treating them like four year olds! He quickly found himself losing hope about this class.

"There now, that wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out please." She said in that overly sweet voice again.

Harry sighed, usually the 'wands away' were never followed by a class that he found interesting. Nevertheless he complied and took out a quill, ink and some parchment. Professor Umbridge took out her unusually short wand, and pointed it at the blackboard, making words appear.

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_A Return to Basic Principles_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in you being far below the standard we should expect to see in you OWL year." Umbridge said while turning towards the class, her hands clasped neatly in front of her.

"You will all be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following please." With a tap on the blackboard, the words vanished and more reappeared.

_Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

_Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

They were then told to read through the first chapter of _'Defensive Magical Theory'_, which was incredibly dull. After reading the first sentence three times and not understanding it, Harry just gave up. He turned around to look at the others, Ron was playing with his quill, Zidane was actually using the margins of his book to doodle large, long-legged birds and making them run around the page with the partially hidden wand he had snuck out. Harry inwardly smiled and continued looking around. He suddenly stopped when he saw Hermione. She had her arm raised and her book lay on her desk unopened. For her to disobey a teacher was completely unheard of. Slowly, more people turned to look at Hermione's mute request, and once it was impossible to keep ignoring her, Umbridge finally addressed her.

"Yes dear, do you have a question about the chapter?"

"No, not about the chapter, no."

Umbridge proceeded to treat Hermione like a small child and told her that they were reading right now and her question would have to wait. When Hermione insisted and told the witch about her question regarding the course aims, only then did Umbridge seem to take her seriously.

"There is nothing there about _using_ defensive spells." Hermione said and then Harry realized that she was right.

"Using defensive spells? Why I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?" Umbridge said, showing her pointy teeth in a sickly sweet smile.

"We aren't going to use magic?" Ron exclaimed loudly.

"Students will raise their hands if they wish to speak in my class, Mr-"

"Weasley." Ron said, thrusting his hand in the air. Harry and Hermione raised their hands as well.

"Yes Miss Granger."

"Surely the whole point behind Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained, educational expert, Miss Granger?" Umbridge asked in a sweet tone.

"No, but-"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer that yourself have devised a new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way-"

"What use is that?" Harry finally snapped, obviously the woman was going to ignore him, even if he had his hand up. "If we are going to be attacked it won't be in a-"

"_Hand_, Mr. Potter." Umbridge called.

Harry raised his hand once more, but as expected the witch ignored him. But others raised they hand too, including Dean and Zidane.

"Yes Mr.-"

"Dean Thomas." Dean replied. "It's just like Harry said, if we are attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat, do you expect to be attacked during my classes?" Umbridge said, smiling in an irritating fashion.

"Not, but-"

Harry felt the anger start surfacing as Umbridge not only proceeded to ignore all their claims, but also criticize their previous teachers. Sure there had been some bad ones like Quirrel and Lockhart. Lupin may have been a werewolf and maybe the 'Moody' from last year did turn out to be an impostor, but they did learn tons from them. Lupin had been his all time favorite, and he felt his blood boil when he heard this woman insult his teaching capabilities and even go as far as calling him 'an extremely dangerous half-breed'. Even the others agreed. Dean jumped in to defend Lupin earning him a reprimand for not having his hand up.

The woman continued to ignore his hand, and also Zidane's which she regarded in a way that reminded him greatly of how the Durselys would look down on him…which Harry found quite odd. The blonde was nearly glaring at the woman, his bright cyan eyes almost glowed from the intensity. The moment Parvati raised her hand though, Umbridge selected her instead and asked for her name.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL? Aren't we supposed to show that we can cast the counter-curses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there will be no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions." Umbridge replied.

Harry then realized that it would mean that the first time they would perform each spell would be right _during_ the test that would determine their futures. But Umbridge insisted that theory would be enough. This woman was absolutely insane. But there was a more pressing issue. Theory wouldn't save them from real danger.

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world." Harry nearly shouted. "This is a school, isn't it supposed to prepare us for what's out there?"

"There is nothing out there, Mr. Potter." Umbridge replied in a sickly sweet tone that barely disguised her irritation. "Who do you imagine would hurt children like yourselves?"

"Hmm, let's think…" Harry said in a mock thoughtful voice. "Maybe _Lord Voldemort_."

There were gasps of shock around the room. Many people had terrified looks on their faces. Hermione and Ron gasped, Parvati had let out a small scream, Dean and Seamus looked horrified, Neville hand fallen off his chair, even Zidane's expression became slightly more serious as the blonde eyes saw everyone's reactions, Umbridge however had a face of grim satisfaction.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter." The woman said. "Now let me make things quite plain. You have all been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead and is at large once again. _This is a lie._"

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him! I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter! Tomorrow evening. Five 'o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in any danger from any Dark Wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five. '_Basics for Beginners'_." The witch said and she sat down behind her desk. Harry however, stood up, much to everyone's surprise.

"Harry no!" Hermione whispered, but he ignored it. He saw Zidane giving him a small look of warning from the corner of his eye.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry asked, his voice shaking. There was a sharp intake of breath from most of the class. It was the first time Harry had ever talked about what happened the night Cedric died.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident." Umbridge replied coldly, all fake sweetness gone without a trace.

"It was murder, Voldemort killed him and you know it." Harry said, his voice was shaking. He did not shout, instead his voice was cold, and like a river, it did not reveal the turbulent maelstrom raging inside of him.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable. Umbridge's face was completely blank and, for a moment, he thought Umbridge was going to shout at him. Instead the woman beckoned him over and gave him a sealed pink roll of paper with orders to take it to McGonagall. He took it from her and without another word he turned on his heel and crossed the room, doing his best to avoid everyone's looks, and slamming the door behind him.

…..

Zidane glared at the woman once the door slammed shut. Sure what Harry did was pretty stupid, but it was very brave as well. The murmurs that rose in the classroom afterwards were quieted down by Umbridge who, once again, told them to continue reading as if pretending the little discussion earlier never happened. Zidane absolutely loathed people like her. The way she dismissed others as lowly trash, the way she used that annoying overly sweet voice of hers to bend people's wills and suck up to those of higher ranking. She reminded him a lot of those 'better than thou' nobles that objected to his marriage with Dagger. She was nothing more than a poisonous snake in toad's clothing.

'_I can't just let everyone start reading peacefully like nothing happened. Otherwise, they will just continue to take Harry as an attention desperate teen. I'll get in trouble for it, but someone has to stand up to this toad. And if I play my cards right, I will even gain some support, which is exactly what we need at the moment. Besides, I probably shouldn't leave Harry all alone on this.'_ Zidane thought, considering his options before making his decision.

He rose from his seat, his hand shooting into the air as well, just so the toad couldn't say anything about it. This gained the whole class's attention, which didn't bother him as much since he was used to acting on a stage for hundreds of people. Murmurs started once again, and noticing this, Umbridge turned to address him, a look of barely-concealed contempt on her face.

"Yes, Mr. -"

"Zidane Tribal." Zidane said, calmly interrupting the woman. "I am not from around here, so I can't ascertain whether that Dark wizard is back or not. But I do think it would be plain idiotic NOT to prepare for it. I agree with Harry about preparing ourselves for what is out there. Dark wizard or not, there will always be some form of danger. I mean, wasn't it about a month ago that a street in Diagon Alley just blew up? It could be only a matter of time before another madman shows up, and then what will happen then? It won't be risk-free anymore, will it?"

The loud whispering broke out once Zidane finished. Many students found themselves nodding to each other, which made the blonde inwardly smirk. Outside however, he was speaking in a professional tone that hinted reason and control over the situation. He had learned to use that sort of tone during the few times he had been forced to negotiate with other snooty nobles. On an unconscious level, the tone intimidated others by insinuating a higher rank and power, which he technically did have, but usually didn't flaunt around.

Umbridge's mask faltered for a moment when she looked at him coldly, Zidane was sure she was about to draw out her wand at one point, but quickly her face was set into a sweet and forceful smile. "Well, I can't expect someone like _you_ to understand the way things are run in this country. But if, _hypothetically_ speaking, there was indeed some form of danger, it is the Ministry's proud obligation to take care of the danger, so children such as yourself do not have to worry-"

"I know what the Auror department exists for." Zidane interrupted. He was going to do his best to give the toad a taste of her own medicine. She had enjoyed her time interrupting Harry and the other students, now it was his turn. "My question is. What will the Ministry do if the Aurors are defeated? How will they get new ones if new recruits aren't good enough because they grew up expecting others to come and save them. And what if, _hypothetically_, a powerful Dark wizard rises. This nation doesn't have an army, does it? If I remember correctly, that didn't turn out so well the last time, did it? I mean, it was left up to a year-old baby to clean after the Ministry."

'_Check and mate.'_

Zidane inwardly smiled as he saw that Umbridge looked like she wanted to kill him now. Her metaphorical mask had several cracks now, and he could practically feel the killing intent rolling off of her. Personally, he was pretty angry himself. He had to make a conscious effort to stop his tail from moving about and to avoid accidentally trancing. He was angry enough for it, anyways. Umbridge was exactly the dictionary definition of people he couldn't stand.

"Silence!" The woman snapped, but then quickly recomposed herself. She once again wrote a pink note, and used her wand to close it. With that sickly sweet tone of her, she called him over. "Mr. Tribal, you will be joining Mr. Potter in detention tomorrow. I want you to take this to Professor McGonagall."

"Cool, maybe we can form a club." Zidane said jokingly as he walked over and took the note. He gathered his things and then left through the door, whistling and playfully twirling the note in between his fingers while ignoring the murmurs that erupted from behind him.

'_Zidane: 1 Umbridge: 0' _

…..

"Have another biscuit Potter." McGonagall said, handing him the tin filled with treats.

"No thanks." Harry replied coldly.

"Don't be ridiculous." She snapped.

Harry took one.

"Thanks." He said begrudgingly.

After a small run-in with Peeves, Harry made it to McGonagall's office. The Gryffindor Head read the message and told him of his punishment. There was no way out of it. He would have to serve detention under Umbridge for the entire week. All for causing a commotion and calling the teacher a 'liar' which he didn't.

His worst mistake was losing his temper like that, and now, Umbridge was going to make sure he paid for it. Even if he was telling the truth, the woman was from the Ministry, and therefore, she was out to get him regardless, because of the whole Voldemort thing.

"Tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge, Potter. You know why she is here don't you? Keep your head down and your temper under control!" McGonagall warned, her face stern and her lips thin.

The bell outside rang, and with McGonagall's dismissal, he headed over to the door. Her words were still echoing in his ears, as well as her relief to know that he at least listened to Hermione. He was about to open the door, when it swung open and he was greeted by a mop of blonde hair and a pair of bright cyan eyes. It was none other than a smiling Zidane.

"Hi Harry."

"I should have known." McGonagall deadpanned. 'What did you do Mr. Tribal?"

Zidane grinned as he handed her the pink slip. The stern witch took it and read it out loud.

"Interrupted the lesson, instigated chaos, and expressed radical views against a respected institution." McGonagall read and then turned to look sternly at the blonde.

The blonde whistled and replied sarcastically. "Wow, does it mention the three cities I single-handedly destroyed with my sarcasm?"

Harry would have burst into laughter had it not been for McGonagall's stern gaze.

"Potter, you can leave now. I need to have a few words with Mr. Tribal here. On the upside, it looks like you are going to have a partner with you for those detentions."

…..

"Would you care to explain what happened?" McGonagall asked once she made sure there was nobody eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Well, it seems Umbridge is quite resistant to my natural charms." The Zidane said, flashing the woman a smile.

"This isn't something to joke about." The woman snapped.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think I want Umbridge lusting after me, after all." The genome said jokingly as he took out a biscuit from the tin on McGongall's desk.

"I don't know what Albus was thinking when he allowed you to enroll here, but I do hope you keep in mind that, should anything happen, none of us will be able to aid you. You have made a dangerous enemy here today. I don't think I should have to remind you what her current views on the non-wizarding magical population are, and what exactly that means for you." McGonagall warned.

"Yeah, Lupin told me about it." Zidane said lazily. "I will be careful, you know. I'm keeping my tail out of sight and everything."

"Dolores Umbridge must not be underestimated. I believe she already suspects that you are at least of mixed parentage, like Hagrid. Should she learn that you are not even a wizard, I'm afraid there were be several legal repercussions for Albus as well."

"Like I said, I'll be careful. Thief's honor." The blonde said, placing his right hand over his heart.

McGonagall just looked at him with her lips pressed thin.

"Besides, my job is guarding Harry. I can't have him do anything stupid when he's alone with that pink toad. Wouldn't you feel much better knowing that he isn't going in there alone? Who knows what she might do to him?" Zidane argued before taking a bite out of his biscuit.

"Honestly Mr. Tribal, I sometimes don't know who I should worry about the most." The woman said, before sighing. "I suppose that as long as you don't cause the Order, or the staff here any further problems, it should be fine. As your Head of House I also expect you to behave while in this school; wizard or not, you´re still a member of Gryffindor house. Should you face any difficulties, I expect you to come to me."

"Will do." Zidane said, before heading towards the door.

"Before you leave, I also thought it appropriate to warn you about Miss Granger. She can be quite persistent with her endeavors."

"I could tell, she's really quite ruthless when she wants to know something; I've been dodging her questions left and right ever since I came here." The teen said, laughing as he opened the door to leave. Before leaving, the teen looked at the Deputy Head-mistress once more. "Women in this world really are terrifying, but you know, women back in Gaia are far worse."

Walking out the office along the throng of students leaving class, the blonde hummed merrily to himself.

'_It's decided then, as long as anything I do can't be traced back to me, it should be fine, shouldn't it?'_

…..

Dinner that night was not a very pleasant experience. Rumors about the incident with Umbridge travelled like wildfire around the school. The students weren't even quieting down whenever he passed by. Instead, they seemed to talk louder, as if they wanted him to break down again and tell them more about what happened to Cedric. His only real consolation was that he was not the only one sharing the spotlight. In his short stay, Zidane Tribal had already made himself into something of a celebrity. He had been confused at first when he heard parts of the rumors. He just assumed it was because of whatever he did to land him in detention with him. It wasn't until he met up with Ron and Hermione that he got the full story.

At this point he wasn't sure if he should feel touched that the blonde was standing up to his beliefs like him, or be shocked at the blonde's disregard for his own hide. It was understandable to be afraid of getting in trouble. Heck one of his worst nightmares was of him getting expelled and having to live the rest of his life with the Dursleys, but Zidane didn't seem the least bit worried about that. For someone who just got detention on the first day, had the entire school talking about him, and had made enemies with one of the teachers, he was pretty calm about it all. Even Harry couldn't fathom how the blonde did it. Maybe he liked getting the attention. Maybe that was just the way he dealt with stress.

That particular easy-going behavior quickly got to Hermione too. When they left to the common room and found the blonde sitting down on the couch, writing something on some parchment, while absentmindedly scratching Crookshanks behind the ear, Hermione had more than a few words to say to him. Well, right after taking care of the twins, who were testing some Fainting Fancies on a group of first years.

Hermione may have been taking her duty as prefect a little too seriously. Ron however, wasn't. Whether it was because the twins were family, or because of Ron's crippling fear of what they would do to him, Harry didn't know, all he knew is that Ron would never stand between the twins and their goals.

After they were taken care of, Hermione expressed her incapability to do any of the homework at the moment, and with that, Harry and Ron's hopes of getting any help disappeared. Instead the bushy haired girl sat down on a couch next to Zidane and continued on her knitting. All for the sake of SPEW.

…..

Zidane was just sitting down minding his own business and doing some work, when he became aware of Hermione's presence next to him. Crookshanks then went to annoy his owner, which he really didn't mind since it gave him more space and mobility to write. Zidane noticed how the girl started casually knitting something that looked like a deformed bladder, but he knew that the real reason she sat was because she wanted to talk to him. The way her posture was shifting was a huge giveaway.

'_Any second now.'_

"Zidane." The girl said.

"Hmmm?" Zidane didn't even bother to look up to her from his work. _'I knew it.'_

"It's about today. You really shouldn't repeat what you did with Umbridge. She may be a nasty woman, but it doesn't change the fact that you could get in some serious trouble. Not just for yourself, but for others as well."

"Mmm hmmm." Was Zidane only reply. He wasn't really in the mood to get lectured.

"I'm not joking! You don't want to face suspension, or even worse, expulsion." Hermione said more seriously.

"Right." Zidane said absentmindedly, and Hermione's resulting angry expression highly amused him. The way her bushy hair was crackling with static electricity made it look like she was about to trance.

"Will you listen?!" Hermione said, her temper rising and she snatched away his parchment to get his full attention. "What is this, anyways?"

"History homework."

Hermione critically eyed the cursive writing on the page and frowned. "But it looks more like a play write."

"I thought it would be more fun this way." Zidane said with a shrug. "Especially when Gulg declares his undying passion for the daughter of the opposing Giant tribe's chief."

"That's beside the point!" Hermione snapped. "Please do be more careful from now on, _especially_ with that dreadful witch."

"Don't worry. I'll try to be more careful from now on. Are you happy?" Zidane said, soothing the girl's nerves. He just couldn't say 'no' to girls, even bookworm-y types like Hermione. "Now just sit down calmly so you can work on your…knitting. What is that for anyways?"

"Oh I haven't told you about SPEW yet!" Hermione said happily like she had just undergone a giant mood swing. From the other side of the room he heard Harry and Ron groan.

After about half an hour of Hermione's explanation about what SPEW was, Zidane just wanted to make himself invisible and run for his life. He had met Kreacher and some other house elves that worked at Hogwarts, and they didn't seem as oppressed as Hermione portrayed them. In fact, he was told that giving them clothes DID free them, but it was also considered a massive act of shame and an insult. Besides, the way she was hiding the hats in trash (so it would be picked up by a cleaning elf) was really quite low and underhanded, and he should know, he's a freaking _thief_. In the end he politely declined her invitation to join, but still donated some money for her cause, mostly because he didn't want to end up on her bad side.

With the little time he had left, he finished his epic History assignment and part of the Potion's assignment with some luck. After seeing that it was almost midnight, he decided to take a quick shower before heading to bed. This was because the showers were probably empty at this time, meaning that he didn't have to worry about his tail being seen. Afterwards he just decided to head straight to bed, he was just too tired to wander off and explore tonight. His last thoughts before falling asleep were of possible ways to get back at the toad, and what Dagger was doing at the moment.

'_Gods I miss you Dagger.'_

**To be continued…**

…..

**A/N: Short chapter, but again, it seemed like good place to stop. Zidane has yet again managed to make another enemy, and it's still only Monday.**

**Yes, Harry did see Zidane doodling chocobos on his parchment, but of course, he wouldn't see them as anything other than large, cartoonish birds. Also, have I mentioned how much I like McGonagall? I feel like her backstory is so awesome, and she is such a badass, yet she doesn't seem to get as much love as she should.**

**See you guys next week!**


	12. Chapter 12: Wicked Plants and Evil Toads

**Notes:** Not much to comment this week. I'm starting my first exam period, so I will definitely be very busy next week. I WILL update, but there's a chance it will be on Sunday rather than Saturday. I will also probably be re-uploading some revised chapters to correct a few mistakes here and there. This will probably happen either next week or the week after, so for those of you who have this story on their lists, don't freak out if you get multiple emails warning about updates.

Thanks to everyone who has been following so far, and oh yeah, Happy (early) Easter, too!

…..

**(ARC)**

To Fast Frank:

Okay, those are a lot of reviews. Here we go:

-The Grimmauld Place description is my own, though obviously inspired by what the author was trying to portray. I will eventually go back and correct those mistakes, as stated above.

-Thank you, I've tried to make the transitions as smooth as possible.

-The word script is in my vocabulary, though at the time I had a bit of a 'presque vu' situation, so I settled for 'play write'.

Thank you for reviewing.

….

**Chapter 12: Wicked Plants and Evil Toads**

Double Charms, double Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and then detention with Umbridge. It was at least better than Monday.

"But on the plus side, no Snape today." Ron said, and Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

The morning was of a depressing gray palette with a cold rain that chilled to the bone. Hagrid was still absent from the staff table and Harry was losing hope. He was greeted by Zidane and Neville, the foreigner having woken up at the same time as everyone else today, much to Neville's relief. He quickly finished breakfast and with Ron and Hermione, they as a group, then headed over to Charms.

Professor Flitwick, the tiny Charms Professor and Ravenclaw Head, began the class by once again reminding them of their OWLs. They spent most of the class revising Summoning Charms which were sure to be on the test. When he noticed Zidane's slightly disappointed face, as he saw the charm in action, Harry just felt compelled to ask. The blonde just shrugged and said he expected something different. Harry did just fine when he summoned a book since he had mastered this spell last year before the first task, so did a lot of others, but when it was Zidane's turn, he ended up accidentally summoning the teacher's heavy oak desk towards them. Fortunately, everyone got out of the way in time so there were no injuries. Unfortunately, Flitwick gave them tons of homework for their already hefty pile.

Transfiguration went similarly as bad. After a long chat from McGonagall about OWLs, hard work, and even reassurances towards Neville, who she claimed, 'only lacked self confidence', they started working of vanishing snails. Hermione of course, managed to do it after three tries and even gained some points as bonus. While Harry and Ron were unable to vanish their snails at all, Ron was sure that his own snail was a few shades paler. When he spotted Zidane, he was surprised to see that the blonde was actually serious about his work if his expression was anything to go by. His third attempt made his snail transparent, though by the sixth attempt he successfully made it disappear completely. It was then that he raised his hand.

"Yes Mr. Tribal." McGonagall asked, though clearly she wasn't expecting any form of participation from the blonde.

"Where do the snails go? Is there a way to specify where they end up?" Zidane asked.

The stern witch pursed her lips before answering. "Vanishing Spells are not a way of transportation like apparating is. Anything targeted by the spells is broken down and becomes part of its surrounding. They form part of nonbeing, which in a sense means they become everything around us. The complexity of the object that will be vanished determines how much skill will be needed in the spell, that's why we are using snails; simple invertebrates. The object however, can always be retrieved with a conjuring spell."

They were told to practice the spell tonight so they could once again try it in tomorrow's class. After realizing just how much work they had and panicking, Harry and Ron spent their lunch hour in the library to search for information regarding moonstones. Hermione did not join them because of what Ron said about her hats, but to their surprise, Zidane did join them briefly for the same thing. After they finally finished the essay for Potions, Harry had a giant headache. The trio of males made their way out of the castle and into the cool, breezy grounds towards Hagrid's hut, since that was where Care of Magical Creatures would take place.

They were greeted by Hermione on the way, and when they got there, they found Professor Grubbly-Plank and a table full of what appeared to be twigs. As they neared, they heard a loud shout of laughter behind them. When they turned towards the sound, they saw Malfoy and his gang approaching. He clearly said something amusing, since Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson were still sniggering. It didn't take Harry long to figure out they were talking about him.

"Everyone here?" Grubbly-Plank asked as all the Gryffindors and Slytherins gathered around. "Good, let's get a crack on then, shall we. Who can tell me what these creatures here are?"

Hermione quickly rose her hand in the air. Malfoy did a bucktooth impersonation of her, while jumping up and down eagerly with his hand up. Pansy gave a shriek of laughter that turned into a shriek of surprise as the 'twigs'flew up into the air and revealed themselves to be small, stick-like fairy creatures, with a two sharp fingers in each 'hand', a flat bark-like face, and brown beady eyes.

"Ooooh." Parvati and Lavender said in awe, which thoroughly annoyed Harry. So what? Hagrid had shown them loads of amazing things too. Maybe the Flobberworms were lame, and maybe the Blast-Ended Skrewts were too much, but the Salamanders and the Hippogriffs were cool.

"Bowtruckles." Hermione said. "They are tree guardians, usually living in wand-worthy trees."

"Five Points for Gryffindor. It is just as Miss Granger said. Does anybody know what they eat?"

"Woodlice." Hermione replied again, earning another ten points.

Professor Grubbly-Plank talked about the creatures, and then warned them about their sharp fingers which they would used to scratch a person's eyes out should said person anger them. They were then told to get in groups of three and sketch one of the creatures while labeling each of their parts.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked the teacher while everyone else was choosing Bowtruckles.

"Never you mind." She answered.

Seeing his disappointed face, Malfoy leaned in from where he picked the largest Bowtruckle and said to him in a low voice. "Maybe the big oaf has gone and got himself injured."

"Maybe you will too if you don't shut up." Harry said out of the side of his mouth.

"Maybe he's been messing with stuff that's too _big_ for him, if you catch my drift." Malfoy said before walking away smugly.

Harry paused. _'What did he mean by that? Malfoy's parents are Death Eaters, maybe they know something. It's just like how he hinted about knowing Sirius is an Animagus. But in that case, Hagrid is on some sort of secret mission for the Order. Does that mean he knows of things the Order doesn't yet? What if Hagrid really did get injured or maybe even captured? Did the Order know?'_

Harry just shook his head and went to join Ron and Hermione who were currently trying to get their Bowtruckle to get stay still.

….

Zidane ended up partnering with Neville and Dean. To be perfectly honest, these creatures were creeping the hell out of him. It didn't help that they were TREE-guardians. Plant life didn't seem to like him much, and had he known better he would have thought that these creatures were evil Iifa agents. But the Iifa tree couldn't have possibly recruited these demonic beings, or at least, that's what he was trying to convince himself.

For some reason they just seemed to hate him. After he was told to hold it so the others could sketch it, the thing slashed at his gloved hand before managing to get free and slash at his invisible tail, actually drawing blood in the process. Zidane then decided it was best to wrap his injured appendage around his waist and as far away from these demon sticks as possible. Luckily no one saw that, but still, it amazed him how the creatures just seemed to pick on him. Could it be that they knew he wasn't human?

When the creature flew towards him again in full-attack mode (and aiming for his eyes), Zidane just grabbed the thing from the air with a vice-like grip, pulled out his wand, and muttered a quick sleep spell under his breath along with several other choice swear words. The creature instantly became slack, much to the amazement of his two companions who didn't realize that the wand had been just for show. it. He was actually thinking about incinerating or maybe petrifying the demon twig, but he realized that the teacher wouldn't take too kindly to that, not to mention it would probably scare everyone.

"There!" Zidane said as he set the sleeping Bowtruckle in the middle of the trio, before plopping down and starting on his drawing. "Now we can finally draw in peace."

…

"Oww!" Harry cried out when he accidentally squeezed the Bowtruckle he was holding too hard. This resulted in two deep cuts on his hand, and blood flowing freely down and staining his sketch.

It was a natural reaction after getting angry at Malfoy. The blonde Slytherin was making fun of Hagrid and claiming that he would be sacked once he got back. He automatically let go of the creature which quickly escaped and disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of class, so Harry just rolled up his blood-stained picture, and headed over to Herbology with his hand wrapped in Hermione's handkerchief. He sighed angrily as he heard Malfoy and his cronies continue laughing.

"If he calls Hagrid a moron one more time…" Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Harry don't go picking a row with Malfoy. He is a prefect now. He could make life more difficult for you." Hermione warned.

"Geez, I wonder what having a difficult life is like." Harry said sarcastically as he continued walking towards the greenhouses for their next class. "I just wish Hagrid would hurry up and get back, that's all."

"Hey guys, look." Ron said, breaking Harry and Hermione out of their conversation. The redhead pointed to a spot on the school grounds. "Bloody hell, what do you reckon happened?"

Harry didn't get it at first. It wasn't until he looked at the secluded area near the Forbidden Forest that he realized what Ron was talking about. It was about the Whomping Willow; the violent tree was covered in slings and bandages. On a closer look he could see that there were several scorch marks on its trunk and also several slash-like lesions here and there.

"I have no idea Ron, but I hope whoever did it, is faring better than that tree." Harry said, and both he and the redhead shivered involuntarily, memories of their past experiences with the Whomping Willow resurfacing.

….

After Zidane handed the still-sleeping-bowtruckle back, and gaining a raised eyebrow from the teacher, he followed an excited Neville to Green House 3. What awaited him inside was like something out of a nightmare. It was clear the genome disliked plants. It was perfectly understandable since his past experiences in the Evil Forest and then the Iifa Tree both nearly killed him violently. The only forms of plant life he ever got close to now were the occasional garden vegetables, small trees of the harmless variety, and flowers to really set the romantic mood. That was pretty much it.

So when he finally entered the green house and had many of the plants there _hiss_ and _snarl_ at him, Zidane just knew he was going to have a problem with this class. Things only seemed to go downhill from there when he was subjected to a shrieking plant, a plant that shot spiky thorns at him and another plant that attacked him and was somehow on _fire_. That last plant shot _torrents of flames _at him, which until now seemed like an entirely unfathomable idea. Weirdest part of all was that the plants didn't really do anything to the other students, just him. The plants were actually trying to murder him mercilessly and with extreme prejudice.

'_Would it be paranoid of me to think that it was somehow the bastard Iifa's fault?'_

"Wow mate, it looks like the plants really do hate you." Dean said.

"Feeling's mutual." Zidane answered.

And so after a grueling class of Herbology, Zidane was more than happy to get the hell out of the green houses. He was tired, hungry, wounded, wet, and smelled of dragon dung. He decided that the first thing he would do was take a shower and hope that the horrible smell of fire-breathing reptilian shit would go away. After that, he could go eat and then head over to the toad's detention.

….

Harry left the greenhouses he wanted nothing more than food, a long shower, and an even longer nap. He still had to admit that his first Herbology class could have gone far worse, judging by what happened to a certain blonde foreigner. As a matter of fact, he even came across some surprising developments, so it almost felt wrong to complain.

Before class started, he was approached by Luna and Ernie Macmillan who came to tell him that they were on his side, and that they believed him. Though he appreciated Luna's support, he knew that because of her…well oddness, most people wouldn't take him seriously. Ernie's approach had taken him by complete surprise. The blonde Hufflepuff had been against him in several occasions. In second year, he accused him of being the heir of Slytherin. Last year he took him for a cheater, whose only purpose was to steal the glory from Cedric Diggory, one of his fellow Hufflepuffs. But now that the somewhat pompous blonde had revealed his support, Harry really felt much happier.

That is, until he headed directly over to dinner and was approached by Angelina. The dark skinned girl came to berate him for getting detention on Friday at the same time the Keeper tryouts would take place. Oliver Wood, had just graduated the year before, meaning that the Gryffindor team was one Keeper short of qualifying for the House Cup. She had made it very clear that he was to ask Umbridge to postpone his detention on that day.

'_Yeah, fat chance of THAT happening.'_

Dinner came and went quite quickly, but nevertheless, it was a huge blessing for his rumbling stomach. Between the three, they mostly talked about the day and the tons of homework that would be waiting for them. If this was what the first two days were like, he didn't want to even think about how the rest of the year was going to be.

"I just hope she doesn't keep me up till too late. You do realize that we have to do three essays, practice vanishing spells for McGonagall, work out a counter-charm for Flitwick, finish the Bowtruckle drawing, and then start the dream journal for Trelawney." Harry said as he ate his generous serving of pork chops and mashed potatoes.

At five to five, Harry bade farewell to his friends and headed over to Umbridge's office on the third floor. Once there he was surprised to find a refreshed looking Zidane waiting him just outside.

"So, shall we?" Zidane said teasingly.

Harry just sighed and then knocked on the door. After getting a reply from Umbridge they both entered the room.

…..

Zidane thought his eyes were going to go blind from all the pink and bad taste in décor. The whole room was covered in lacy covers and cloth. There were several vases of dried flowers here and there which only added to the old-lady vibe he was getting from this place. On the walls there were several plates, each with moving kittens all wearing a different colored bow around their necks. It was simply disturbing. The whole place was as sugary sweet and fake as Umbridge herself. Quite honestly, he would have much rather walked into Kuja's Desert Palace. Sure the guy was a megalomaniac, but at least he had better taste, even if he went for a more dramatic flair.

"Good evening Mr. Potter, Mr. Tribal." The pink toad said with that annoying sugary tone of hers. But there was something in that tone tonight, something that made the hair on the back of his neck and tail stand on end.

'_What is that? Smug satisfaction? Glee? Well as long as she keeps her tacky ringed hands to herself…'_ Zidane thought and he unconsciously wrapped his tail around his middle more tightly.

They were led to a pair of lace covered desks that each had a piece of parchment just there, waiting for them. The blonde and Harry walked over to the straight backed chairs, but before Umbridge told them what to do, Harry asked the pink toad if she would spare him of coming on Friday because of Quidditch tryouts. The woman just turned him down while smiling and giggling as if it were some extremely hilarious joke.

"Oh, no, no, no. this is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention seeking stories, Mr. Potter, and punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you and Mr. Tribal will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you." The pink toad said with a twisted smile, and Zidane could feel the hatred emanating from Harry, even though the scarred boy did not retaliate.

"Now you two will be doing some lines for me. No, not with your quills, you two will be using some rather _special_ ones of mine." The toad said, and Zidane narrowed his eyes suspiciously. There was something definitely wrong here.

She handed the boys two identical quills, both long, entirely black, and exceptionally sharp-looking. "Mr. Potter, I want you to write for me _'I must not tell lies'_. Mr. Tribal, you will write _'I must not disrespect authority_."

"How many times?" They both asked.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in_." The woman said with that fake tone. Zidane's eyes narrowed further. She had definitely something up her sleeve. "Now, off you go."

"How are we supposed to write with no ink?" The genome objected suspiciously.

The woman's mask seemed to crack for a second, and for that brief moment, Zidane realized that the woman was looking at him with cold disgust and hatred, but quickly the woman recomposed herself and smiled that sickly sweet smile of hers. "Oh, you won't need any ink."

'_So then, what will we be writing with?'_ The thief wondered as he looked at the black quill.

There was something almost sinister about it. Just by feeling it, he could see that it was coated in spells. He had no idea what they did, but they certainly sent shivers down his spine. Still, there was only one way to find out.

'_Here goes nothing.'_

"I…must …not…disres-" Zidane wrote in red colored ink, but stopped when he heard a gasp coming from Harry. He turned to look at the boy who was looking at his left hand in shock. Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were words there, as if carved on his skin by a thin knife. Soon the words disappeared as if healed, but the redness remained.

'_I must not tell lies.'_ The genome read and his eyes widened in realization. He looked at his own left hand, and noticed that the glove had a blood stain on it, not to mention it was stinging a bit. When he took it off he saw the words he wrote carved there too. The cuts quickly healed too, but his skin was still irritated.

'_She's making us write in our own blood! That sick bitch!' _Zidane thought in anger. Now that he thought about it, that ink did have a very coppery smell. He did feel a bit of pain, but he just passed it as nothing, since it was really nothing compared to some of the wounds he used to get on a daily basis.

'_Zidane: 1 Umbridge: 1.'_

"Yes?" The woman asked with a twisted smile on her toad-like face.

"Nothing." Harry said quietly, though with a hint of defiance.

"And you, Mr. Tribal?" The woman asked.

'_So that's what you are playing at eh, you sick toad. Well guess what, two can play at this game.'_

Zidane gave her a piercing look, but then gave a smirk and an almost predatory smile that, based on the current condition, seemed greatly out of place. Both Umbridge and Harry were taken aback by such a reaction. But while Harry seemed to take it as incentive to continue to stubbornly fight, Zidane could see a hint of fear in the toad's eyes. From his peripheral vision, he saw how she unconsciously reached out for her short wand. He wasn't stupid. He could tell by the way she addressed him in class that she knew he wasn't human, or at least not fully human. His talk with McGonagall had pretty much confirmed that. But now, it was clear to him that her hatred for anything that wasn't fully human stemmed from a deep fear of them.

'_My turn.'_

Zidane started to quickly write through the parchment, ignoring the stabs of pain in his hand. He had a massive tolerance to pain after all he had been through. This was really _nothing_. He wrote so fast that he didn't give his skin the chance to heal over. Instead, blood was now dripping unto the desk and even the floor. Umbridge had this look of disgust on her face as his blood marred her lacy coverings, while he was really just hoping it would leave a permanent stain.

Harry was also writing on the piece of parchment, but at a more sedate pace. It was obvious that the teen was in pain, and the only things keeping him from stopping, were his stubborn pride, Zidane's mental support, and his growing hatred for Umbridge.

As soon as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Zidane thought it was time to take it up a notch since the Toad was now hovering around them both, probably to check on how her torture was going. It was clear that his earlier 'mess' had greatly disturbed the pink-clad woman. She had been greatly annoyed when he stained her table cloths with his 'half-breed' blood, but after (purposely) moving away his bangs with his bloody left hand, and thus leaving part of his face and hair covered in red too, the woman had developed a twitch in her eye. As much as she liked inflicting pain unto others, she still hated any sort of mess. So basically what Zidane did now only served to slowly drive her crazy.

'_I could definitely use this to my advantage.'_ Zidane thought and a plan was quickly hatched in his mind. _'That should be enough. My hand is really starting to annoy me and I think it's time to end this. It doesn't look like she can take any more anyways.'_

The blonde let go of his quill and began to stretch his right hand, as if trying to work out the stiffness in his muscles, which was believable since they had been at this for a while. He followed by working out the kinks on his shoulders and neck. And then, that was when he put his plan in action. He stretched his stiff back and then followed by rapidly shaking his hands to work out the tension in his wrists. Normally it would have been fine, but right now his left hand was still bleeding. So when the blonde did this, small droplets of blood speckled everything on his left, from the lacy patterned cloths, to the embroidery on the walls. Even some of the kitten plates were tarnished, its occupants hissing in anger before leaving the plates. Heck, some of it even on Umbridge, making the toad shake in a mix of barely-contained anger and disgust.

"Whoops, sorry about that." Zidane said, faking his concern. But it appeared like the woman didn't hear him. The toad just stood there, shaking like a fully-grown, Alexandrian Bomb about to go off. Her pasty face went from a pale white, to a red, then to a purple color that clashed horribly with all the pink in her room, before going back to normal. She plastered a smile on her face, though her eye still had that horrible twitch, and then turned to them.

"I think we have done enough for today." The woman said through clenched teeth, right before nearly kicking them out of her office.

Both teens only had time to grab their things, before having the door slammed to their faces.

'_Zidane: 2 Umbridge: 1.'_

….

Harry cradled his injured hand on the way back. That detention had been hell. Umbridge was clearly messed up in the head, and apparently so was Zidane. Writing with your own blood was disturbing, but the way the blonde boy carelessly continued to write, as if he didn't feel any pain, had definitely out-disturbed Umbridge. He had to admit he owed the blonde for getting him out of that detention, even though his method was quite…well, _gruesome_. He did have to recognize that Umbridge's expression was simply hilarious at the time. It actually reminded him of a female Uncle Vernon.

"How's your hand?" The blonde next to him asked, breaking the silence in the process.

Harry blinked. He had been so distracted by what happened, that he forgot Zidane was still there. The blonde was exceptionally quiet when he wanted to be. He didn't even think he could even hear his footsteps as he walked.

"The bleeding stopped. It still hurts like hell though." Harry said. "But, how is yours? Yours was much worse than mine. Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm fine, but shouldn't you go too? I mean, imagine the fit Hermione and Ron will have when they hear about this." Zidane said.

"I don't want to go to the Hospital Wing, and I don't think I will tell them either. I just don't want the others to worry about this." Harry said gruffly and looked at his hand. "I especially don't want to give the woman the satisfaction of it either."

'_Rather, Ron and Hermione will probably tell me to tell Dumbledore. I'd rather not deal with that right now. Dumbledore has probably better things to do.'_ Harry thought to himself, remembering how the Hogwarts Headmaster had seemingly gone out of his way to ignore his existence lately.

Zidane nodded in understanding and then silence overtook the pair again. They walked slowly through the empty corridors.

"Hey Harry?" Zidane asked.

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't happen to know a spell to get rid of all this blood would you?" Zidane asked and then Harry noticed that there was indeed a lot of blood. In fact, one side of Zidane's cheerful face was covered with it. It was probably from when he moved his bangs out of the way earlier. But to any innocent passerby the blonde look very eerie and almost wild, especially with the way his eyes almost seemed to glow in the dim light.

"Erm, let me try this." Harry said and pulled out his wand. "_Scourgify_!"

The blood over the blonde cleared up, making the blonde smile. Harry soon did the same for himself.

"Thanks, now let me repay the favor." The foreigner said, and took his own wand out. He pointed it at Harry's hand muttering some words under his breath and concentrated. Zidane's hand glowed with a white and green aura, and then his injured hand did too. He felt a pleasantly warm sensation wrap itself around him and soothe him. Before his eyes, he saw the injury from the quill, as well as the scratches he got from the Bowtruckle, heal.

"How did…" Harry asked inspecting his healed hand.

"I used to get injured a lot, so this friend of mine taught me some healing spells in case it happened and she wasn't around." Zidane said holding up his own hand to show that his injury was healed too. "Now Ron and Hermione will never know, unless you decide to tell them, of course."

They went back to the Common Room, and while Harry stayed so he could work on his accumulating pile of homework, Zidane just headed over to the dormitory with the excuse of being tired. He was greeted by Hermione since Ron had long since left. When they asked about his detention, Harry just said he was forced to do lines, which wasn't a complete lie. After that, he started doing his work. It was, without a doubt, a very long and arduous task. In the end, he wasn't even able to practice vanishing spells for McGonagall, finish his drawing, or write up a stupid dream for the Dream Dairy because it was getting so late.

"Well at least it's only lines." Hermione said consolingly. "Anyways, I should head over to bed now, it's getting late."

Harry looked at the nearest clock and saw it was a little past midnight. With a defeated sigh he decided it was about time to join his red-headed friend upstairs. The room was dark, but there was enough light coming from outside the slightly-ajar window to see that everyone was sleeping, or so he assumed since most curtains around the beds were drawn. He quickly dropped his things hazardously onto the floor, and walked over to close the window that was letting a cold chill enter into the room, while trying to be as silent as possible. Finally after much maneuvering in the dark, he got in his pajamas and plopped into bed. His last thoughts before falling asleep were how he could get even with the evil witch that was Dolores Umbridge.

….

Outside of the castle, a cloaked figure was perched on one of Hogwarts' many turrets. Though his face was completely obscured by the hood, two blue beacons glowed eerily from within, reflecting what little light was present that night. The figure leaped with cat-like grace along the many turrets, roofs, and surfaces the castle had to offer, if there were none, it would simply cling to the crevices in the old stone with great ease, even though everything was wet from the rain that was pouring from the sky. After many great leaps, the figure stopped at a window that was slightly ajar and slipped inside the dry castle. With a nearly silent sigh of relief, the figure pulled down the black hood, revealing none other than Zidane Tribal.

Zidane was not usually a vindictive person. He just tended to go with the flow, and in his personal opinion, grudges were far too troublesome to keep. Yet at that moment, his thoughts were mirroring those of a messy-haired, green-eyed boy, in Gryffindor Tower. The only difference was that he already had a plan.

Well, his current plan was not centered much on revenge, not really, it was more of a defensive strategy, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. Maybe later he could try to enact revenge, but not now since he was busy. Vengeance was more like something he would do for fun in his free time.

Looking around he realized he was in a corridor on the fourth floor. So far, there was no one in sight, not even a sleeping portrait. But knowing what awaited further ahead, he decided it would be best to take the necessary precautions. He expertly cast an invisibility spell over himself, vanishing instantly in plain sight, while leaving behind only a puddle of rainwater.

He snuck towards the stairs, his footsteps completely silent like those of any decent thief, turning him into nothing more than a breeze of displaced wind. The corridors were all dark and silent, except for the occasional snoring portrait. Thankfully, the darkness was no problem for his superb night vision, and the occasional castle noise only made it easier for him to mask his presence. After going down a level, he headed over to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower, where the classroom, and Umbridge's office, was. On his way he ran into Filch, but the old caretaker, didn't even bat an eyelid as Zidane darted right past him.

Rather than picking the lock of her office like an amateur, he decided to enter through a more unexpected entrance: the window. He found the nearest window from the office, put his hood back on, and jumped back outside into the rain. Maneuvering in the rain was harder because of the slippery surfaces, but Zidane could handle it just fine. He calculated the same distance and decided on entering through the one that was two windows to the right. It was painfully easy from there. With a quick spell, the window opened up and Zidane made sure to sneak in as quietly as physically possible in case the toad was _somehow_ still in the dark room. If he got caught doing this, then he would be in tons of trouble. Thankfully, the room was empty and not even the kittens on the plates stirred. The genome knew the potential those things had as a crude security system. Most people however, would usually pass them off as simple decorations.

His greatest worry at the moment was that the kittens would wake up and somehow warn the toad, because they'd be able to see him through the rainwater that clung to his cloak. Silently, the thief walked over to the drawers in Umbridge's desk, dripping rainwater on everything as he moved. He didn't care though, as long as it couldn't be traced back to him, it would be fine. There was a lock there, which was only expected. He tried using a non-verbal Alohomora spell, but the drawer didn't budge. Zidane realized that the toad must have used protection against such a simple spell.

'_But there is more than one way to skin a cat.'_ The thief thought with a concealed smirk.

He took out his personal 'work tools' and proceeded to quickly and silently pick the lock. The woman obviously didn't expect someone to try the non-magical way of doing things, because in less than a minute the lock opened with a satisfying 'click'. Peering inside, Zidane was a bit disgusted by the woman's obsession with order. Everything in the drawer was neatly categorized, so in the end it made his job much easier. It didn't take him long to find a hidden compartment in the desk, were all sorts of miscellaneous objects were seemingly kept. He could even make out a few painful looking spiked shackles, and something that resembled a small bear-trap. In it, was also a box labeled 'Blood Quills' and it was then that Zidane knew he hit the jackpot.

Just from the fact that the box was hidden from view, the genome t the impression that those quills must be illegal. Those quills, as well as those other object hidden away, felt like many of the trinkets he had come across in Grimmauld Place. They all had this eerie low buzzing, that didn't quite feel right, or rather, they didn't feel 'safe'.

Zidane quietly put the box back where it was. Though he came because of the quills, he was not here to steal them. If Umbridge found out that the quills were missing, she would obviously suspect the only two people in the school who likely knew about them. No, what he came here to do tonight was to make sure she wouldn't be able to use them again. Zidane closed his eyes in concentration, and prepared his spell. A quick dispel later and he could feel the magic coming from the quills dissipate like a thick steam.

'_Now I can go back.'_ Zidane said, but then paused and looked back at the secret compartment, specifically at the nasty-looking instruments whose purposes he didn't really want to know. '_Okay, let's just be on the safe side.'_

With that thought in mind, he cast another dispel at the many cruel looking objects, and then felt much relief as he felt the magic fade from them. _Now_ he could rest easy knowing that Umbridge wouldn't chain them up or something during their next detention with her.

Zidane made sure to leave everything exactly the way he found it, before locking the desk and erasing any evidence that he was here. When he was done, he quietly snuck back out the window, and closed it behind him, all without waking up the sleeping cat plates. After that, getting back to the dormitories was a piece of cake, well, except having to open up a new window since someone had apparently locked the one he used to get out.

That night, after finally sneaking into his own bed and changing into his night clothes, the teen then plopped unceremoniously onto the soft mattress. Looking up at the ceiling, Zidane felt his muscles relax as the noise from the rain outside drowned out everything else and then slowly began to lull him into a deep slumber. A lot had happened in these past few days since his days as a student started. In fact, he hadn't really expected school to be really that taxing on his body and mind. Now, as his consciousness slowly began to slip, he wondered if he was really going to last until the end of the school year

**To be continued…**

…

**A/N: When Zidane speaks of the bombs, he's referring to the FF monsters that grow before exploding. **

**I apologize if any of you are squeamish at the mention of blood. I'm sorry to say this probably won't be the last time, though I was particularly gruesome this chapter for a good reason. I see Umbridge as the type of person who likes being able to inspire fear and control others, usually by inflicting pain. Of course, keeping every tidy and in perfect order is also important to her, so Zidane really did his best to get on her nerves; first by showing he wasn't in pain (and intimidating her), and second by showing defiance to her sense of control by getting his blood (blood that Umbridge wholeheartedly believes that comes from some dirty creature/non-human) everywhere and ruining her sense of order.**

**Anyways, I should get back to studying. See you guys next week!**


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